Key Takeaways
- • PwC forecasts sovereign wealth fund assets will rise nearly 50% to $22.4 trillion by 2030 from about $15.2 trillion, according to a report released on Thursday that analysed the world's 350 largest public investors.
- • State-backed investors are shifting from passive allocators to 'principal investors' that originate transactions, take controlling positions and play operational roles, per PwC's Eric Janson.
- • Public pension assets are projected to reach $36.3 trillion (from about $27.6 trillion) and central bank assets to about $20.9 trillion (from about $17.3 trillion) by 2030.
- • About $66 billion flowed from state investors into AI and digitisation in 2025, with the bulk going to the US and China's share slipping to around $4 billion.
- • Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund cut foreign allocations to roughly 20% from a peak near 30%, signalling a shift toward domestic focus.
Summary
Sovereign wealth fund assets are set to surge nearly 50% to $22.4 trillion by 2030 as state-backed investors deepen their involvement in artificial intelligence and infrastructure, according to a PwC report cited by Reuters. The report analysed the world's 350 largest public investors and forecasts public pension assets rising to $36.3 trillion from about $27.6 trillion, and central bank assets climbing to about $20.9 trillion from about $17.3 trillion.
The report finds that the largest sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds have moved from passive to principal investors that increasingly shape the real economy. "These investors no longer depend solely on external managers – instead, they are originating transactions themselves and taking controlling positions with operational roles," said Eric Janson, PwC's global private equity and principal investors leader. Funds are also more likely to own and operate assets directly and to create new infrastructure projects.
Capital is becoming more concentrated. The top 10 institutions hold around 41% of combined SWF and pension assets, and the top 50 hold 77%. PwC warned that a few dozen large institutions are positioned to set the tone, stating that they "won't merely participate in the megatrends reshaping the global economy. Increasingly, they'll enable, accelerate, and own them."
In 2025, the bulk of the roughly $66 billion state investors channelled to AI and digitisation went to the United States, while flows to China slipped to around $4 billion. Gulf state funds were "tilting hard" toward the US, with the report pointing to pledges from Qatar's QIA and Abu Dhabi's MGX and ADIA. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was a notable exception, cutting foreign allocations to roughly 20% from a peak near 30% as part of a nascent shift to a domestic focus and "portfolio-wide spending discipline."
The report finds that the largest sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds have moved from passive to principal investors that increasingly shape the real economy. "These investors no longer depend solely on external managers – instead, they are originating transactions themselves and taking controlling positions with operational roles," said Eric Janson, PwC's global private equity and principal investors leader. Funds are also more likely to own and operate assets directly and to create new infrastructure projects.
Capital is becoming more concentrated. The top 10 institutions hold around 41% of combined SWF and pension assets, and the top 50 hold 77%. PwC warned that a few dozen large institutions are positioned to set the tone, stating that they "won't merely participate in the megatrends reshaping the global economy. Increasingly, they'll enable, accelerate, and own them."
In 2025, the bulk of the roughly $66 billion state investors channelled to AI and digitisation went to the United States, while flows to China slipped to around $4 billion. Gulf state funds were "tilting hard" toward the US, with the report pointing to pledges from Qatar's QIA and Abu Dhabi's MGX and ADIA. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was a notable exception, cutting foreign allocations to roughly 20% from a peak near 30% as part of a nascent shift to a domestic focus and "portfolio-wide spending discipline."
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