Latest News

Global pension funds' assets see strongest annual growth since 2017


By Paige Perrin

The world's 300 largest pension funds increased their total assets under management by 13.4 per cent in 2025, the strongest annual growth since 2017, WTW's Thinking Ahead Institute has reported.

The firm’s report, Global Top 300 Pension Funds, found that growth was particularly pronounced among the largest pension funds, as the world's 20 largest corresponding institutions increased their assets by 14.7 per cent to USD 11.9trn


Check out our latest news

NBIM commits €1.2bn to unlisted renewable energy infrastructure

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), responsible for the investments of the Government Pension Fund Global, has committed €1.2bn to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) sixth flagship renewable energy fund, CI VI
Denmark's PFA records 8.9% return in first nine months of 2026

Denmark's PFA customers have recorded an average return of 8.9 per cent in the first nine months of 2026, extending a run of positive performance despite continued geopolitical and market volatility

EP-Awards

NBIM integrates active ownership function with active management teams

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the Government Pension Fund Global, is integrating its active ownership function with its active management teams, as part of a wider reorganisation of its governance and compliance area
News in brief: 2 October 2026

The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days

EIOPA sets out EU-wide strategic supervisory priorities for NCAs

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has identified enhancing resilience in a structurally evolving and volatile risk environment and supporting societal resilience by mitigating conduct risks in business models and distribution as two European Union (EU)-wide strategic supervisory priorities relevant for national competent authorities (NCAs)
APS ČR warns Czech third pillar reform may have 'opposite effect'; calls for adjustments to fee changes

The planned 'Better Pension' reform of the Czech third pillar may have an opposite effect to the one planned by the state due to the "enormous reduction" in income for system administrators, the Association of Pension Companies of the Czech Republic (APS ČR) has warned


View More News

Latest Podcasts

View More Podcasts

View Videos

Check out our latest appointments

Check out our latest features

Austria: A new horizon

Austria’s strong state pension system is facing growing pressure from demographic change and high public spending. As policymakers seek to strengthen sustainability, attention is turning to occupational pensions – but whether voluntary provision can deliver the scale needed remains uncertain. Paige Perrin reports

Who shares wins

Collective sharing of risks or rewards form part of almost every national pensions system. As the UK launches a new type of collective defined contribution scheme, David Adams asks what policymakers, the pensions industry and employers can learn from the different ways collective elements are used in pension systems across Europe

Austria’s pension reform: cautious steps towards a stronger second pillar

Austria’s planned occupational pension reform is welcome for a country still heavily reliant on its public pay-as-you go system. Yet the measures fall short of the structural change needed. Valida Vorsorge Management member of the executive board, Philipp Mayer, explores

Over the line

After years of delays, Ireland’s auto-enrolment system has finally crossed the try line. But while MyFutureFund has been welcomed as a landmark reform, concerns remain over aspects of its implementation and the wider changes reshaping the pensions landscape. David Adams reports

Joining forces

Paige Perrin explores the current trend of consolidation in the Icelandic pension sector and the wider impacts of a more concentrated market structure on competition, ownership and financial stability

The cost compass

The continent’s pension sector is rethinking fees and costs as regulators, providers and policymakers shift the debate from price alone in search for value for money, transparency and better longterm outcomes for savers. Pete Carvill reports

Savings under scrutiny

From France and Hungary to Estonia and Slovenia, a series of recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Economic Surveys has placed pension reform firmly on the agenda. Callum Conway rounds up the organisation’s latest country recommendations and the very different retirement challenges facing policymakers across Europe

Built to last

Swiss Pension Fund Association director, Lukas Müller-Brunner, sits down with Paige Perrin to speak about the strengths of Switzerland’s multi-pillar pension system, the challenges the Swiss pension industry is facing, and the importance of preserving employer involvement and improving efficiency without simply relying on further consolidation of pension funds

Ask the industry

Imagine you have €1 billion (or equivalent value in local currency) of new capital to invest today for your pension fund/pension fund client. How would you allocate it, what opportunities would you avoid, and what factors would most influence your decisions?

The resilience shield

European pension funds are redefining resilience as geopolitical instability, climate risk and digital dependence reshape the landscape. Beyond funding and investment risk, regulators are now focused on operational vulnerabilities – from cyber threats to reliance on non‑European IT providers – raising new questions about the role of pensions as critical financial infrastructure. Ellie Carric reports

The dollar dilemma

Currency hedging is back in focus as doubts emerge over the dollar’s traditional role as a safe haven. Against a backdrop of heightened volatility, European pension funds are reviewing their exposure to foreign exchange risk and the opportunities hedging can offer. Lynn Strongin Dodds reports

Sweden’s pension balancing act

Skandia head of public and regulatory affairs, Mattias Munter, speaks to Callum Conway about the strengths of Sweden’s multi-pillar pension system, the lessons from recent governance controversies, and why adequacy, trust and private savings reform will shape the sector’s future

View More Features

EP-Awards

Podcast: Stepping up to the challenge
In the latest European Pensions podcast, Natalie Tuck talks to PensionsEurope chair, Jerry Moriarty, about his new role and the European pension policy agenda

Podcast: The benefits of private equity in pension fund portfolios
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which stock markets have seen increased volatility, combined with global low interest rates has led to alternative asset classes rising in popularity. Private equity is one of the top runners in this category, and for good reason.

In this podcast, Munich Private Equity Partners Managing Director, Christopher Bär, chats to European Pensions Editor, Natalie Tuck, about the benefits private equity investments can bring to pension fund portfolios and the best approach to take.

Mitigating risk
BNP Paribas Asset Management’s head of pension solutions, Julien Halfon, discusses equity hedging with Laura Blows

Advertisement
© 2019 Perspective Publishing     Privacy & Cookies