This puts Australia in fourth spot overall, behind the USA (first), Japan (second) and the UK (third).
Graeme Miller, Director, Investor Services for Towers Watson in Australia said, "Australia's continuous rise in the our annual Global Pensions Asset Study is largely attributable to our strong economy, our buoyant equity markets and our ongoing contribution growth both through the Superannuation Guarantee introduced in 1992 and the Better Super tax changes in 2007.
"It was also helped by the strengthening of the Australian dollar during this period," he said.
The size of Australia's pension funds and the prospects for substantial growth continue to draw global fund managers to establish or expand operations in Australia. The resultant clustering of activity, along with Australia's highly skilled, multilingual workforce and its stable regulatory environment will further enhance the country's position as the funds management hub for the region.