Australian Super, the country’s largest pension fund, is expected to invest an additional £8 billion and take its total investment in the UK to £18 billion by 2030.
AustralianSuper currently has around £8 billion already invested in the UK, and holds a further £2.5 billion in UK-listed equities, with the Australian fund having had a presence in UK markets since 2016. The fund is now on track to deploy a further £8 billion in capital into large-scale, long-term investment opportunities into the UK’s fast-growing energy transition and digital infrastructure sectors.
AustralianSuper CEO, Paul Schroder, has praised the UK for enabling high-quality and long-term returns for investors, and now expects that £7 out of every £10 invested in the fund will be deployed outside of Australia. The investment by the Australian pension fund into the UK follows a 2023 trade agreement with Australia, which includes comprehensive provisions on investment.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said:
“This major investment from AustralianSuper will promote growth and strengthen the UK’s position as a leading financial centre, creating wealth and helping to fund public services.
“Britain continues to be Europe’s leading hub for investment, and it is through commitments like this that we will funnel billions into our brightest, burgeoning businesses to scale up and grow.“
Australia boasts the fastest growing pension fund industry in the developed world, with assets under management doubling every five years. The country’s pensions model has inspired proposed pension fund reforms in the UK that have been set out by the Chancellor earlier this year.
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