Australian superannuation assets became the fourth largest in the world, comprising 4.8 per cent of the global pension assets pool.
These figures emerged from Towers Watson’s research report Global Pension Asset Study 2011, which noted a substantial increase from 10 years ago, when the Australian market made up only 1.7 per cent of global pension assets and ranked seventh.
No other country in the top 13 has had a larger increase in the total global pension assets pie over the past 10 years or a greater rise through the ranks than Australia, according to the report.
The director for investor services at Towers Watson in Australia, Graeme Miller, attributed Australia’s constant rise through the global pension ranks to “buoyant equity markets, ongoing contribution growth both through the Superannuation Guarantee introduced in 1992 and the Better Super tax changes in 2007”.
Miller also noted that Australian superannuation funds had a higher asset allocation in equities than other countries in the top 13, but also invested 25 per cent in alternative assets.
This makes Australia the second highest investor of alternatives in the world behind Switzerland and, according to Miller, the trend is likely to continue “as strong contribution flows pour into Australian funds”.
Australian superannuation funds rose to 103 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product last year, up from 93 per cent in 2009.
