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The Markets July 9, 2012
Real Estate Number One Alternative Asset of Pension Funds
Total alternative assets managed on behalf of pension funds by the
top 100 managers (ranked by pension fund assets) was $1.2 trillion in
2011.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
According to Towers Watson’s Global Alternatives Survey, this represents 49.2% of the approximately $2.5 trillion total assets under management (AuM). Of the asset classes in the survey, real estate remained the largest block of alternative assets for pension funds (39.7%), followed by private equity fund-of-funds (18%), private equity (14.1%) and hedge funds (9.8%).
Total alternative assets managed on behalf of all clients by the top 100 managers was $3.14 trillion. Pension funds represent one-third of the total AuM, followed by insurance firms, sovereign wealth funds and foundations and endowments.
Of all alternative asset classes report, real estate is the largest block (35%), followed by private equity (22%), hedge funds (21%), private equity fund-of-funds (9%), fund of hedge funds (6%), infrastructure (4%) and commodities (3%).
As for where assets are invested, North America accounts for the largest share of alternative assets, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific.
The Global Alternatives Survey report can be downloaded from http://www.towerswatson.com/research/7415.