Pension AUMs hit global high, but balance sheets weaken

Institutional pension fund assets rose for the third straight year in 2011, although balance sheets weakened with the ratio of global assets to liabilities well down on a 1999 peak, finds consultancy Towers Watson. By contrast, both Australia and Hong Kong’s dominance of defined contribution assets means that their balance sheets have not been impacted to the same extent as other countries. The firm’s Global Pension Assets study released this week showed that pension assets in 1…