Global pension fund assets 'reach record high'

Global pension fund assets in the leading 13 markets grew by four per cent in 2011 to reach a new record high of $28 trillion (£17.8 trillion), up from $26 trillion (£16.5 trillion) the year before.

That is according to the latest Global Pension Assets Study from professional services firm Towers Watson, which suggested that increase is a continuation of a trend that was first noted in 2009, when assets rose sharply following a fall in 2008.

Since 2001, global pension asset funds have grown by an average of six per cent (in US dollars), rising from $15 trillion (£9.5 trillion) just ten years ago.

However, the study indicates that pension fund balance sheets were actually somewhat weakened in 2011, with rising liabilities leading to a situation whereby pension assets make amount to 72 per cent of GDP, significantly more than the 61 per cent recorded in 2008.

Towers Watson global head of investment Carl Hess said: "In case investors needed any reminding, the last six months of 2011 have driven home the need to have investment strategies that are flexible and adaptable and which contain a broader view of risk.

"There is still some way to go before the appropriate measurement and management of risk is firmly embedded in the governance structures of most pension funds."

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