Assets held by European pension funds grew above trend for the second consecutive year, adding 6.2% of assets in 2024

The assets held by European pension funds rose above €10trn for the first time last year, according to the IPE Top 1000 European Pension Funds 2025 study.

In this year’s report, the top 1,000 European pension funds reported AUM growth of 6.2%. On an absolute basis, total assets rose from €9.73trn to €10.33trn.

Growth was more muted than during 2023, when assets grew by 8.7%. IPE data shows that this was the second consecutive year of growth, after the significant loss that the European pension industry experienced in 2022, which equated to 6.8% of assets.

Last year’s growth rate was above the average annual 5.4% rate recorded since 2015, but well below the 9.8% rate achieved at the end of 2020.

The IPE Top 1,000 study also found significant changes in asset allocation. Allocations to alternatives within European pension funds’ portfolios have fallen below 10%, while other asset classes – particularly fixed income and equities - have risen.

Read our exclusive report for comprehensive data and analysis: IPE Top 1000 European Pension funds 2025

 

Carlo is deputy editor of IPE. He has nearly 20 years of experience as a journalist, more than half spent covering institutional investment. He started his career in financial journalism in London on the eve of the Great Financial Crisis. He has professional experience in corporate communications and international development, following a spell at the African Development Bank in Tunis.View full Profile

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