Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, reached US$1.7 trillion in assets under management in 2024, taking the No. 1 spot among the world’s top 100 global asset owners, according to a new report by WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute.
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund dropped to No. 2, currently managing $1.6 trillion, said the report, noting the total assets managed by the top 100 asset owners reached a record $29.3 trillion in total assets, rising by 11.3 per cent.
Among the largest asset owners, pension funds saw the smallest growth, increasing by only 6.5 per cent year over year. Pension funds nonetheless remained the largest asset owner group, despite now managing less than half (49 per cent) of total assets globally.
Read: World’s 100 largest asset owners’ AUM up 12.3% in 2023: report
Conversely, sovereign wealth funds exhibited the most significant growth, rising by 16.7 per cent year over year, representing 40.8 per cent of total assets. SWFs strengthened their presence across all regions, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where they accounted for 73 per cent of all assets.
Meanwhile, pension funds still retained their leading majority in North America at 70 per cent and Asia-Pacific at 52 per cent.
“Asset owners now face complex and systemic risks with little historical precedent, and siloed investment approaches are showing limitations in today’s complex markets,” said Jessica Gao, director at the Thinking Ahead Institute, in a press release.
“Common themes among the asset owners includes the use of total portfolio thinking when investing in global assets, a focus on risk and resilience, a business model in which investor partnerships are critical and tapping into the wide inter-connectivity of stakeholders. In a collaborative ecosystem, together, these asset owners are re-thinking how large-scale capital can be managed for resilience, purpose and long-term value creation.”
Read: World’s 100 largest asset owners’ AUM down 9% in 2022: report