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FIAP > Boletín – Otras Publicaciones > Global Pension Assets Study 2024 – Thinking Ahead Institute (TAI) – February 2024
4 April, 2024

Global Pension Assets Study 2024 – Thinking Ahead Institute (TAI) – February 2024

According to the study, global pension assets grew again in 2023, increasing overall by 11% to reach USD 55.7 trillion. This compares with $50.1 trillion at the end of 2022, when the same TAI study had previously measured the largest annual drop since the global financial crisis, interrupting a decade of previous uninterrupted growth. The return to growth during 2023 is largely the result of stronger capital market performance throughout the year, following a much more negative impact from markets in the 2022 correction. The TAI estimates that the return (measured in USD) of a benchmark portfolio, composed of 60% global equities and 40% global bonds, stood at 16.6% in the twelve months to December 2023.

Actual investment allocations among global pension funds have changed considerably over the study’s 20-year history. Since 2003, equity allocations have fallen nine percentage points over two decades, from 51% to 42% in 2023. Meanwhile, the allocation to bonds among global pension funds remains stable at an average of 36%, the same in 2023 as in 2003. Compared to 20 years ago, pension funds’ asset allocation to “other” asset classes (from real estate and infrastructure to private equity) has increased significantly. These “alternatives” now represent 20% of global pension investments, compared to just 12% in 2003. At the same time, reflecting awareness of market risk and systemic uncertainty among global pension funds, average allocations to cash instruments have increased slightly from an estimated 1% to 3% over the past two decades.

To review the study in detail, download it here.

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