Thinking Ahead Institute
The latest research and outlooks in the ProAllocate library
- Pensions
https://www.thinkingaheadinstitute.org/research-papers/the-worlds-largest-pension-funds-2026/
The Thinking Ahead Institute's 2026 study finds the world's top 300 pension funds' AUM grew 13.4% to $27.7 trillion in 2025, with DC assets expanding faster than DB. It highlights hyperscaling, AI adoption, governance evolution and decumulation challenges as reshaping the industry.
- Investment Industry
State of the Industry Survey 2026
Thinking Ahead Institute introduces "Society Alpha" as a new composite measure of the investment industry's societal value, building on its 2015-2023 State of the Industry scorecard surveys. The framework tracks improving industry scores on alignment, costs and efficiency, ahead of a 2026 survey update.
- Investment Industry
An Expanding Mandate – A Thinking Ahead x CAIA Association paper
A joint report from the Thinking Ahead Institute and CAIA Association argues asset managers must adopt systems-level thinking to remain relevant amid geopolitical, technological and demographic disruption. It contends asset owners are already reallocating capital toward firms that have restructured for this complexity.
- Investment Industry
Global Asset Manager Peer Study – 2026
A Thinking Ahead Institute survey of 176 asset managers finds organisational alpha increasingly hinges on AI integration, resilience and 'joined-up' culture, with technology spend still under-allocated relative to future needs. Firms show strong consensus on AI, geopolitics and scale as drivers but less conviction on sustainability, digital assets and non-linear market outcomes.
- Pensions
Global DC Peer Study 2026 – Reports
A 20-organisation global peer study finds DC pensions now dominate retirement savings but lag as complete systems, citing retirement income, member engagement, service delivery and technology as key gaps. It calls for stronger end-to-end design balancing defaults, choice and private markets access.
- Digital Assets
Technology and AI Hub
This primer argues tokenisation is a fundamental infrastructural shift, not merely a new asset class, that could evolve into self-executing 'autonomous capital.' It weighs substantial efficiency and liquidity benefits against unresolved cost duplication, fragmentation, and systemic legal-governance risks.
- Pensions
Global Pension Assets Study – 2026
The 2026 Global Pensions Assets Study tracks USD68.3tn across 22 major pension markets, highlighting continued DC growth, rising Total Portfolio Approach adoption, and AI's growing role in investment management. It also flags retirement income as DC systems' biggest unresolved challenge, prompting reforms like the UK's Value for Money framework.
- Sustainability
Global Asset Owner Sustainability Peer Study
A study of 15 mega asset owners finds sustainability practice shifting from ESG compliance toward systems-level 'Total Portfolio Approach' investing, driven by rising climate, geopolitical and politicisation risks. It recommends hybrid governance structures, embedded sustainability KPIs, technology-driven reporting and expanded systemic stewardship.
- Investment Industry
Organisational Alpha and Governance
Thinking Ahead argues that investment governance must evolve beyond structural controls into an adaptive, intelligent capability, introducing 'Org-Alpha' as the people, process and technology capital that drives asset owner outcomes.