Pension fund assets in natural capital are clearly growing, according to this year’s ranking. Richard Lowe reports
The 50 largest institutional investors in natural capital own more than €70.6bn in timber, agriculture and related land assets – up from €63.7bn in 2024 – according to this year’s research by IPE Real Assets.
The ranking is exclusively for capital owners, predominantly pension funds. It was based on an IPE Research survey and publicly available information, predominantly in the form of annual reports. Where accurate numbers were not available, estimates have been made. Some investors have not been included because of a lack of information.
Once again, the ranking is led by Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) with €10.4bn in assets – up from €8.35bn in 2024. In the past 12 months, the Canadian institution has consolidated its position as the largest foreign investor in Australian agriculture by acquiring more than 8,000 hectares of farmland in New South Wales from Duxton Farms and buying a majority stake in Ellerslie Free Range Eggs, an egg-farming business.
“As was the case last year, North American investors dominate the ranking”
Second in the ranking is another public institutional investor from Canada – British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), whose natural capital assets have risen from €3.53bn to €4.39bn. BCI is a shareholder in agriculture company Viterra, which entered into a merger with another firm, Bunge, in 2024. BCI’s investments in timberland and agriculture form part of its C$20.2bn (€13.7bn) infrastructure and renewable-resources programme.
The remainder of the top five are made up of North American institutions, with the general account of US giant TIAA coming in third with €4.18bn, down from €5.03bn in 2024. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is fourth with €4.04bn (up from €2.97bn) and Washington State Investment Board is fifth with €3.4bn (up from €3.21bn).
Aggregate natural capital assets of the top five have increased by approximately 14% from €23.1bn to €26.4bn.
As was the case last year, North American investors dominate the ranking, representing more than half of the constituents, unsurprising given the scale and relatively long history of investment in these asset classes by US and Canadian public pension plans.
The Netherlands’s (and Europe’s) largest pension fund is the only institution based outside North America to make it into the top 10. As reported last year, ABP has close to €2.9bn in natural capital assets.
TOP 50 NATURAL CAPITAL MANAGERS
| Company | Country | Natural capital assets (€’000) | Total assets (€’000) | As at | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSP Investments | Canada | 10,394,626 | 181,153,719 | 31/03/2024 |
| 2 | BCI | Canada | 4,393,097 | 171,237,793 | 31/03/2024 |
| 3 | TIAA (General Account) | US | 4,175,255 | 265,453,765 | 30/09/2024 |
| 4 | Ontario Teachers | Canada | 4,042,270 | 169,139,768 | 31/12/2023 |
| 5 | Washington State Investment Board | US | 3,399,818 | 152,945,503 | 31/03/2024 |
| 6 | Massachusetts PRIM | US | 2,986,550 | 98,276,174 | 30/06/2024 |
| 7 | ABP | Netherlands | 2,949,000 | 510,000,000 | 30/11/2024 |
| 8 | CPP Investments | Canada | 2,816,807 (1) | 557,398,847 | 31/03/2024 |
| 9 | NZ Super | New Zealand | 2,441,768 | 42,485,160 | 30/09/2024 |
| 10 | AIMCo | Canada | 2,333,787 | 109,752,916 | 31/12/2023 |
| 11 | LACERA | US | 2,215,427 | 73,661,574 | 30/06/2024 |
| 12 | UTIMCO | US | 1,897,268 | 69,295,459 | 31/08/2024 |
| 13 | BVK | Germany | 1,800,000 | 111,900,000 | 31/12/2023 |
| 14 | AP2 | Sweden | 1,795,832 | 38,251,222 | 31/12/2023 |
| 15 | The Crown Estate | UK | 1,636,362 | 20,732,005 | 31/03/2024 |
| 16 | Alaska Retirement Management Board | US | 1,394,235 | 30,812,836 | 31/10/2024 |
| 17 | PPF | UK | 1,255,791 | 50,774,326 | 31/03/2024 |
| 18 | AP3 | Sweden | 1,243,344 | 44,875,328 | 31/12/2023 |
| 19 | Future Fund | Australia | 1,113,078 | 140,001,198 | 30/06/2024 |
| 20 | North Carolina Retirement System | US | 1,074,712 | 115,173,260 | 30/09/2024 |
| 21 | Ilmarinen | Finland | 1,000,000 | 62,900,000 | 31/12/2024 |
| 22 | Maine PERS | US | 969,866 | 19,208,083 | 30/11/2024 |
| 23 | Virginia Retirement System | US | 820,138 | 106,830,132 | 31/10/2024 |
| 24 | ATP | Denmark | 814,291 | 95,528,912 | 31/12/2023 |
| 25 | UniSuper | Australia | 809,212 | 86,523,469 | 30/06/2024 |
| 26 | CalSTRS | US | 796,849 | 333,539,378 | 30/06/2024 |
| 27 | Sampension | Denmark | 792,645 | 36,421,922 | 30/11/2024 |
| 28 | Colorado PERA | US | 729,838 | 60,757,635 | 30/06/2024 |
| 29 | AMF | Sweden | 708,366 | 52,079,128 | 31/12/2023 |
| 30 | Aware Super | Australia | 629,611 | 113,340,142 | 31/12/2024 |
| 31 | New Mexico SIC | US | 621,515 | 53,784,082 | 31/10/2024 |
| 32 | Rest | Australia | 607,576 | 45,568,200 | 30/06/2023 |
| 33 | PME | Netherlands | 560,000 | 55,728,949 | 30/11/2024 |
| 34 | Arkansas Teacher Retirement System | US | 549,178 | 20,509,080 | 30/09/2024 |
| 35 | Florida State Board of Administration | US | 540,311 | 237,063,467 | 30/09/2024 |
| 36 | Essex Pension Fund | UK | 427,074 | 12,750,811 | 31/03/2024 |
| 37 | Alberta HSTF | Canada | 400,056 | 15,687,680 | 31/03/2024 |
| 38 | Lærernes Pension | Denmark | 388,765 | 21,227,941 | 31/12/2024 |
| 39 | Pensioenfonds PostNL | Netherlands | 380,000 | 9,483,013 | 31/12/2024 |
| 40 | Varma | Finland | 357,000 | 62,100,000 | 31/12/2023 |
| 41 | New York State CRF | US | 347,486 | 247,992,194 | 31/03/2024 |
| 42 | BPL Pensioen | Netherlands | 325,000 | 23,096,740 | 31/12/2024 |
| 43 | Iowa PERS | US | 310,503 | 40,947,483 | 05/11/2024 |
| 44 | CalPERS | US | 277,914 | 476,097,239 | 31/03/2024 |
| 45 | Gothaer | Germany | 261,000 | 32,076,163 | 31/12/2023 |
| 46 | New York State TRS | US | 215,838 | 135,055,424 | 30/09/2024 |
| 47 | Oregon PERF | US | 198,553 | 86,245,606 | 30/09/2024 |
| 48 | South Yorkshire Pension Fund | UK | 153,117 | 12,816,168 | 31/03/2024 |
| 49 | Pennsylvania PSERS | US | 145,221 | 71,397,221 | 30/06/2024 |
| 50 | AP1 | Sweden | 115,751 | 41,899,186 | 30/06/243 |
| Source: IPRE Research | |||||
| (1) Relates to 3% of net investments in real assets (CAD $137.3bn). 3% was the proportion allocated to agriculture in the 2023 annual report | |||||
