Australian superannuation leaders represent members and their growing pool of capital at the US Australian Superannuation Investment Summit

A delegation of Australian pension leaders and institutional investors will converge on the United States to further explore investment opportunities for Australia’s US$3 trillion (A$4.5 trillion) pool of superannuation capital that deliver risk-adjusted returns for working people’s retirement savings.

The 2026 Australian Superannuation Investment Summit will cover San Francisco, Washington DC and New York, giving superannuation leaders the opportunity to engage directly with global business, finance and technology leaders to identify long‑term growth opportunities for members.

The Summit will also focus on how AI and other critical technologies are being embedded across enterprises to ensure investment portfolios are resilient to technological and geopolitical disruption.

With over 60 cents of every new dollar that workers contribute to Australian pension funds now invested overseas, there is an imperative to make sure Australia is positioned in proximity to the best deals globally.

As the world’s largest economy, the US is the top destination for overseas investment by Australian pension funds. Based on modelling by the Super Members Council, from 2025 to 2035, total investment in the US is expected to triple from just over US$500 billion (A$740 billion) to almost US$1.5 trillion (A$2.1 trillion).

Australian superannuation leaders will also share critical dialogue with US state and federal political leaders and policymakers to canvass policy reforms that will help unlock pension capital deployment and address the US’ US$3.7 trillion (A$5.9 trillion) infrastructure funding gap out to 2033.

To help achieve that, IFM Investors has released a landmark policy blueprint ahead of the summit that outlines practical steps to unlock billions of dollars of long-term superannuation capital for US infrastructure investment, including asset recycling, which can potentially both free up public resources to invest in new infrastructure priorities and enhance the resilience and productivity of US infrastructure assets.

The Summit is the latest example of Australian funds positioning Australia’s system as one of the world’s fastest-growing and most reliable pools of long-term capital in the pursuit of new investment opportunities in their members’ best interests.

 The Summit builds on engagement with governments globally, including in the UK and European Union where, according to IFM Investors and Super Members Council data, pension fund investment is expected to grow by approximately 10 per cent each year to 2035.

The Superannuation Investment Summit will run March 9-13.

Notes to editors – key facts and figures from Super Members Council:

• Australia’s retirement savings system, known as superannuation or “super”, is the fastest growing of its kind anywhere in the world, with US$3 trillion (A$4.5 trillion) in funds under management and nearly US$3 billion (A$4.5 billion) flowing into the system every week.  In the next five years, it is projected to become the world’s second largest pool of retirement savings, second only to the US, and reach US$5.4 trillion (A$8.3 trillion) by 2035. 
• Australian pension capital has already invested US$29 billion (A$45 billion) in private US infrastructure assets. Recent market research published by IFM Investors found that most global institutional investors, including pension funds, plan to increase their exposure to infrastructure equity in coming years, with total investment by these funds in private US infrastructure projected to increase to US$67 billion (A$96 billion) by 2035.