Largest 100 Asset Owners Manage Record $26.3T

At the end of 2023, the largest 100 asset owners saw their assets under management increase 12.3% from 2022 to reach $26.3 trillion, a record high, according to a new study from WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute, which tracks metrics of the largest asset owners through its Asset Owner 100.

According to the survey, pension funds made up 51.2% of total AUM, while sovereign wealth funds made up 38.9% of AUM. Outsourced CIOs and master trusts managed 9.3% of assets, while foundations and endowments, a new category to the Asset Owner 100 list, accounted for 0.6% of AUM.

The percentage of total assets managed by pension funds has decreased over the years, going to 51.2% at the end of 2023 from 60.8% at the end of 2017. At the same time, the share held by sovereign funds has increased to 38.9% in that time period from 32%. The share of assets managed by OCIOs also increased: to 9.3% from 7.2%.

OCIO assets grew the most in 2023, increasing 26.4% over 2022, while SWF and pension fund assets grew 12.2% and 8.9%, respectively.

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The largest three asset owners remained unchanged, with the Government Pension Investment Fund of Japan ($1.59 trillion), Norges Bank Investment Management of Norway ($1.55 trillion) and China Investment Corp. ($1.24 trillion) topping the list.

Pension assets dominate in North America, with 69% of assets held by large manager in this region belonging to pension funds, with another 28% of pension assets managed by OCIOs. Sovereign wealth funds only made up 2% of assets in this region, and foundations and endowments made up only a small percent of assets.

In the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, sovereign funds made up 70% of assets, followed by pension funds (29%) and foundations and endowments (2%), while OCIOs made up a small percent of AUM. In Asia-Pacific, pension funds made up 57% of assets, followed by sovereign wealth funds (43%). OCIOs and foundations/endowments made up a very small amount of assets.