Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, has surpassed Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund to become the world’s largest asset owner, analysis from the Thinking Ahead Institute (TIA) has revealed. 

The research revealed that Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund manages USD 1.6trn, and was now second in the rankings, having been toppled from the top spot by NBIM, which now has around USD 1.7trn in assets under management. 

Among the largest asset owners, pension funds saw the smallest growth in 2024, growing by only 6.5 per cent year-on-year.

This marked a continuation of the pension industry's long-term proportional decline among the top 100 largest asset owners, having shrunk by 11.8 percentage points since 2017. 

However, pension funds nonetheless remained the largest asset owner group, despite now managing less than half (49 per cent) of total assets globally for the first time in this study.

This may change in future, though, as sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) exhibited the most significant growth, rising by 16.7 per cent year-on-year, meaning that they now form 40.8 per cent of total assets.

Whilst SWFs strengthened their presence across all regions, this was particularly true for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), where they account for 73 per cent of all assets.

Meanwhile, pension funds still retained their leading majority in North America at 70 per cent and in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) at 52 per cent.

Outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) services and master trusts also had more presence in North America, accounting for 29 per cent of all assets in the region.

TIA director, Jessica Gao, also emphasised the influence and strategic role global pension funds continue to play, as the study identified five clusters of funds that are most homogenous and regionally interconnected.

"These pools of asset owners in the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia collectively manage around $13 trillion and are shaping the direction of institutional investing, setting global investment trends, governance practices, and sustainability standards," she stated.

“The established American Public Funds 7, Maple 8, and Euro 9, together with the fast-developing Gulf 5 and Australian Super 6 clusters, occupy a strategically critical place in global value creation and are increasingly converging in approach.

“Common themes among the asset owners include 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 rethinking how large-scale capital can be managed for resilience, purpose, and long-term value creation."

In particular, Gao said that asset owners are increasingly adopting the Total Portfolio Approach (TPA) to better align governance and portfolio decisions with their overall purpose and investment objectives.

"By encouraging collaboration across teams and clarifying accountability for total-fund outcomes, TPA enables more efficient use of capital at the total-portfolio level and supports stronger longer-term performance potential," she stated.

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