Australian superannuation funds' assets rose by around 9 per cent or $90 billion to $1,115 billion in 2009, a Towers Watson global pension study has found.
This growth resulted in Australian pension assets moving up from sixth to fifth spot in the global ranking of the largest pension markets in the world, with the US, Japan, the UK and Canada taking out the top four spots respectively.
The survey found that on average global pension assets grew by 16 per cent in 2009, compared with an 11 per cent fall in 2008. All countries saw significant growth in pension assets in 2009 except Japan, which still has a negative five-year growth rate.
The increase in the assets of Australian superannuation funds reflected growth for global institutional pension fund assets across the 13 major markets, which in total increased by 15 per cent during 2009 from US$20 trillion to over US$23 trillion.
In Australia, the ratio of pension assets to gross domestic product has risen from 67 per cent 10 years ago to around 93 per cent in 2009, the survey found.
"The global financial crisis was a huge wake-up call and problems of poor systemic design in the industry point to increased likelihoods of further periods of financial distress in the future," Towers Watson senior investment consultant in Australia Martin Goss said.
"While the recovery of markets will be welcomed, it is hoped that it will not stifle recognition of these as major issues for national governments and companies to address.
"I fear that without exceptional leadership we will have another tough decade in the pension and investment world."
