Asian pensions rise and shine in global 300

Most Asia-Pacific sovereign and public sector pension funds rose in rank in the 2010 P&I/Towers Watson global 300 ranking and, with assets totalling around USD 3.2 trillion, now account for 25% of total global assets.

The research, jointly conducted by Pensions & Investments and Towers Watson, shows that of the 29 Asia Pacific funds in the research, five feature in the top ten, including, for the first time, Malaysia’s Employee Provident Fund and Singapore’s Central Provident Fund.

According to the research, the five largest Asian funds are also government-sponsored and represent 60% of the top ten fund assets or 18% of total assets. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, 1st, Korea’s National Pension Fund, 4th, and Japan’s Local Government Officials, 7th, are the other Asian funds featured in the top ten ranking.

Naomi Denning, Head of Investment—Asia Pacific, Towers Watson said, “Although funds around the globe generally experienced a growth, based on US dollars, during 2010, funds and their ranking positions in the Asia-Pacific region further benefited from currency appreciation against the US dollar, particularly the Yen and Australian dollar.”

Results indicate total assets of the world’s largest 300 pension funds grew by 11% in 2010—now representing almost 50% of all global pension funds’ assets. Denning concluded, “Top funds around the world are quickly prioritising governance and risk management arrangements in recognition of the risk of not doing so in increasingly volatile and unpredictable markets. Those that have done so will be best placed to adapt their strategies for some of the extreme conditions we could yet encounter, while competing globally for returns in this low growth environment.”