AustralianSuper to grow Asian private equity exposure, report says

AustralianSuper, Australia's largest superannuation fund, is pursuing a deliberate expansion of its private equity footprint in Asia, according to CEO Paul Schroder in a Bloomberg interview published February 5, 2026. With A$410 billion in assets under management as of end-June 2025, the fund has identified Asia as a strategic priority within its broader private equity growth initiative, though specific allocation targets have not yet been finalized. Schroder stated: "We are diversifying and thinking about Asia, especially through the PE lens. We are just at the beginning of our plan to expand our PE exposures in Asia."

The fund's current private equity portfolio stands at A$85 billion globally, representing approximately 4% of total AUM. This positions private equity as a material but still-developing component of AustralianSuper's alternative asset strategy. The Asian expansion effort represents a significant operational undertaking, with the fund having added more than 10 new private equity managers across North America, Europe, and Asia over the past 12 months, committing over US$3 billion in capital to new investments and co-investment opportunities during this period.

Rather than building proprietary deal teams, AustralianSuper is leveraging relationships with external managers to source and execute private equity investments across Asia. This model allows the fund to access regional expertise and deal flow while maintaining capital efficiency. The strategy reflects a broader refreshing of the fund's private markets approach and an expansion of its private equity team infrastructure to manage these growing investment resources more deliberately. The fund's move into Asia's private equity market occurs as it simultaneously pursues direct investments in property and infrastructure, indicating a comprehensive diversification of its unlisted asset base across multiple alternative asset classes and geographies.