Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The top 100 asset owners controlled US$20.1 trillion in global assets at the end of 2019 - a 6 percent jump from the year before, according to a new annual ranking.
The top 20 funds total $11.0 trillion and represent 54.4% of the assets in the ranking, said the annual Top 100 Asset Owners (AO100) study, published by Willis Towers Watson's Thinking Ahead Institute.
Pension funds remain the single biggest group of asset owners accounting for over 60% of assets, followed by sovereign wealth funds (32%) and Outsourced Chief Investment Officers (OCIOs) and Master Trusts combined (7%).
Pension funds also continue to dominate the ranking and increased this by 1.7% during the year, primarily at the expense of Sovereign Wealth Funds.
The top three largest asset owners have remained the same since 2017, with The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) of Japan continuing to dominate with $1.6 trillion of AUM.
According to the report, APAC remains the largest region in terms of AUM, accounting for 36.1% of all assets in the ranking. EMEA and North America's assets represent 32.7% and 31.2% of the total respectively.
The world's biggest investors have become increasingly active in the companies they own and in sustainability issues, including reducing the impact of climate change, said Willis Towers Watson.
"The AO100 has become more prominent in integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and being more ac...................... To view our full article Click here
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