The combined assets of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and public pension funds are projected to reach $58.7trn by 2030, according to research from PwC, driven by growing investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and infrastructure.

PwC's 2026 Global Sovereign Wealth and Public Pension Fund Study, which analysed the world's 350 largest public investors, projected that SWF assets would rise to $22.4trn by 2030, while public pension fund assets would increase to $36.3trn.

This represents a compound annual growth rate of 8 per cent for SWFs and 6 per cent for public pension funds.

The research found that the 200 largest sovereign wealth and public pension funds currently manage approximately $34trn in assets, comprising $15.5trn in SWFs and $18.5trn in public pension funds.

However, PwC highlighted that the sector was becoming increasingly concentrated, with the 10 largest funds holding approximately 41 per cent of combined sovereign wealth and public pension assets.

This proportion increased to 61 per cent for the largest 25 funds and 77 per cent for the largest 50, suggesting that a relatively small number of institutions were increasingly shaping global investment trends.

The report also identified a shift in the role of major public investors, moving away from traditionally passive capital allocation toward directly originating transactions, building investment platforms, and operating assets.

PwC global private equity and principal investors leader, Eric Janson, said: "Sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds used to be thought of as passive allocators. But as heavy investment in AI infrastructure transforms the economy, behaviour at the largest funds has shifted.

"These investors no longer depend solely on external managers – instead, they are originating transactions themselves and taking controlling positions with operational roles.

"As the largest institutions set the tone for the megatrends shaping the global economy, players that take an active role in the defining theme of our time will emerge winners."

The research identified AI and infrastructure as key drivers of investment, with approximately $66bn of state investor capital flowing into AI and digitisation in 2025 alone, according to Global SWF figures.

This comes amid significant long-term infrastructure investment needs, with PwC analysis estimating that $151trn in investment will be needed by 2050 to modernise digital infrastructure, clean energy systems and resilient transport.

Public pension funds are already playing a significant role in these investments, with the report highlighting several examples of Canadian pension investors participating in major infrastructure transactions.

These included CPP Investments' participation in the acquisition of Australian data centre operator AirTrunk alongside Blackstone, as well as its involvement in the Equinix xScale joint venture with Singapore's GIC, which targets more than $15bn of investable capital for US hyperscale data centres.

Meanwhile, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Brookfield Infrastructure jointly own Compass Datacenters, a US-based developer and operator of large-scale data centre campuses.

The report also highlighted the increasing importance of energy infrastructure in supporting AI expansion, with pension funds investing in power generation and transmission assets to meet growing data centre demand.

Geographically, North America accounted for about 42 per cent of the 2,723 disclosed transactions PwC analysed, with Europe and Asia-Pacific as the next-largest investment destinations.

PwC noted that these figures reflected the number of transactions rather than their value, meaning they should not be interpreted as a precise measure of capital allocation.

The research also identified differing investment strategies among major public investors, with Canadian pension funds and Singaporean sovereign investors maintaining globally diversified portfolios, while several Gulf sovereign wealth funds were increasingly targeting US technology and infrastructure opportunities.

Looking ahead, PwC warned that the transition towards more active investment strategies could introduce additional risks for pension funds, particularly as institutions increase their exposure to similar investment themes.

It suggested that growing allocations to AI, data centres and power infrastructure could create overlapping risks across portfolios that otherwise appear diversified.

The firm also stressed the importance of investment governance, operational expertise and risk management as pension funds take on greater responsibility for originating transactions and managing assets directly.

This article originally appeared on our sister publication, European Pensions.

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