The latest Top 300 research covering 2025 was released on Monday and revealed AustralianSuper and Australian Retirement Trust (ART) sitting comfortably within the top 20 of the rankings, and ahead of Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund.

The WTW analysis noted that the ART was the one new entrant to the Top 20 funds during 2025.

Ranking amid the Top 80 funds were UniSuper and HostPlus followed by Cbus, REST and HESTA which made it into the Top 100 funds.

To put Australia’s pensions and investments sector into context, it ranks fifth in terms of the total value of fund assets behind the US, Japan, Norway and Canada.

Looking at the Australian experience in the latest research, WTW Senior Director, Investments, Jonathan Grigg said Australia’s share of assets under management of the top 300 funds rose from 4.8% to 5.2% through a combination of strong returns, continued merger activity and the strengthening of the Australian dollar.

“The number of Australian funds included in the top 300 rose from 16 to 17, with CareSuper entering the top 300 following the merger with Spirit Super on 1 November 2024,” he said.

Grigg noted that all Australian funds included in the research rose in the rankings, with the exception of State Super, which primarily manages defined benefit assets and has a very different cash flow profile to most Australian funds which are primarily defined contribution.

He said notable movers included ART, which was the only new addition to the top 20 funds in the survey, as well as REST and HESTA which both moved into the top 100.

Thinking Ahead Institute director, Jessic Gao said scale and consolidation had been among the defining industry themes.

“Not only are the largest funds getting larger, but organisations are also increasingly pursuing growth beyond traditional M&A through strategic partnerships, which provide access to additional expertise, technology, and specialised capabilities,” she said.

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