The world’s largest pools of capital—sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurers, and major asset managers—play a defining role in shaping the global economy.
Their investment decisions determine where money flows at scale, influencing which sectors grow, which technologies advance, and how quickly transitions—such as the move to cleaner energy—take place. These pools in the US, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Australia collectively manage close to USD$13 trillion and play a defining role in setting global investment trends, governance practices, and sustainability standards.
Beyond markets, these investors help shape corporate behaviour and systemic outcomes. As major, often long-term shareholders, they can influence governance, sustainability, and strategic direction, while their growing role in private markets and real assets is redefining what investing looks like in practice. Taken together, their decisions don’t just reflect the future—they actively determine it, shaping economic resilience, opportunity, and the distribution of capital across regions, industries, and societies.
“Asset owners are to my mind among the strongest actors influencing world affairs. They combine deep insight, scale of capital, long-term horizons, and a deeply embedded position in the system.” – Roger Urwin, co-founder of Thinking Ahead Institute
The rise of the investment industry hyperscaler
Technology gave us the word “hyperscaler”; investment now has the phenomenon. The largest and most capable asset owners and asset managers are no longer merely big. They are becoming system-shaping institutions. Dive into the world of hyperscalers, what they are and why they matter. Read Roger Urwin’s latest thought piece on this and take a look at our introductory slide deck.
Research
In our research series of influential pools of capital of the world, we do a 360 review that explores
Conversations with our network
The $30trn challenge
How the most influential asset owners shape our world. A Financial Times and Thinking Ahead Institute event.
Asset Owner 100 report
The Asset Owner 100 is a Thinking Ahead Institute study that gathers data on the total assets of the top 100 asset owners around the world. The 2025 study reveals the world’s 100 largest asset owners are now responsible for US$ 29.3 trillion as of the end of 2024; experiencing an increase in assets of 11.3% compared to the previous year. The key themes from the report included: total portfolio approach, systems thinking and systemic risk, technology and AI, and rising complexity. Visit the full report >
Global Asset Owner Peer Study
A Thinking Ahead Institute and Future Fund asset owner study
The Global Asset Owner Peer Study on best practices is an examination of 26 prominent asset owners from around the world. Together, the group represents over $6tn of extremely influential capital and these organisations are enormously important to the futures of people and planet. Explore the data, summary and full reports >
You can also explore our Asset Owner of Tomorrow study >
Projects: Thinking Ahead × The World’s Largest Asset Owners
Over the years we have run a number of projects with some of the largest asset owners in the world. Take a look at some of our project examples and if you’re interested in collaborating with us or finding out more reach out to us.
Project scope: Advised a large asset owner on the design and implementation of a Total Portfolio Approach, including governance, capital allocation, and top-of-house operating model.
Middle East
Project scope: Supported a leading superannuation fund on its long-term investment strategy and organisational transformation, including evolution of its Total Portfolio Approach and development of an Org‑Alpha framework.
APAC
Project scope: Worked with a leading UK pension fund to develop a balanced scorecard framework to strengthen governance, align decision-making, and introduce a multi-dimensional approach to investment performance and risk.
UK
Project scope: Support the client in a multi-stage transition to embed sustainability and TPA principles, using innovative risk models and strategic alignment with SDGs.
EMEA