Trillions of capital to deploy globally

These ‘super funds’ already hold approximately US$812 billion of assets abroad, but according to the Super Members Council of Australia, this will have to rise to US$2.6 trillion in the next decade. The sheer magnitude of inflows, plus limited opportunities domestically, necessitates global diversification. 

These numbers are generating a lot of industry buzz, in expectation that a sizeable proportion will be deployed into global real estate, however, it’s important to put them in context. Firstly, we don’t believe we are about to see a ‘wall’ of Australian pension fund money suddenly hit markets. While real estate will be a recipient, so will a number of other asset classes, including infrastructure, credit and equities. We anticipate that the new real estate investments by the super funds will take place in a considered way over several years and through a variety of routes to market. In some cases, investments will be direct, but a lot will be indirect via funds and partnerships.

The biggest players have already laid the foundations

Secondly, this isn’t a new buyer group, although there are new players. Taking EMEA as an example, according to MSCI RCA data, over US$500 million of Australian capital was invested in real estate (mainly by the super funds) in H1 2025, putting 2025 already well-ahead of the pre-Covid-19 annual average of US$850 million. Aware Super and AusSuper – the two giants of the industry - have been very acquisitive. The former, for instance, has openly said in the media that, after spending US$1.3 billion in UK and European real estate since it opened a London office in 2023, it intends to invest more, favouring offices, logistics and student housing. Given the sheer scale of the market, it also plans to pursue more opportunities in the US. 

A new wave of new funds

These giants will continue to lead the charge, but what’s possibly more noteworthy is who will follow them. Changes to Australian superannuation rules have driven consolidation, and created a new wave of funds of a scale that are able to compete for the world’s largest assets. For example, in late 2024, CareSuper and Spirit Super merged to create a new fund with over AUD$53 billion in funds under management. We’re already seeing these super funds quietly increase real estate activity in some markets, although many are making deals via indirect structures. It’s likely, however, that in time we’ll see more open offices on the ground and do deals directly. We see their activities following similar patterns to those of the ‘Maple Eight’ (Canada’s eight largest pension funds, holding approximately C$1 trillion of assets, with an estimated C$360 billion / U$260 billion in property), which have been investing outside of Canada for many years. They largely started closer to home in the US before gradually spreading capital to Europe and APAC, mainly beginning indirectly, but as their deployments increased alongside their experience and teams, they became more direct.

So, Australian super funds will be a force in global real estate, and a major one in some locations, but it’s more a continuation – and expansion – of an existing trend. Nonetheless, in many regions which have largely seen an absence of institutional money recently, their presence will be welcomed and contribute to the broader recovery in turnover and pricing levels.

Further information

Contact Rasheed Hassan or Ben Schubert

View the Savills Takes Stock: First look at Q3 2025 webinar here.