The top 100 asset owners controlled $20.1 trillion in global assets at the end of 2019 — a 6 percent jump from the year before, according to a new annual ranking.

In its annual Top 100 Asset Owners study, published Monday, consultant Willis Towers Watson’s Thinking Ahead Institute reported that by itself, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund weighs in at nearly $1.6 trillion in assets. That fund, the government pension system of Norway, and China’s sovereign wealth fund have dominated the list for three years running now.

Allocators oversaw a median of $111.8 billion, up from $102.9 billion in 2018. The top 20 funds, including the National Pension of South Korea and the U.S.’s Federal Retirement Thrift program, control $11 trillion, or 54 percent of the total.

Decisions by these allocators are responsible for driving short- and long-term shifts in public and private global markets. The world’s biggest investors have become increasingly active in the companies they own and in sustainability issues, including reducing the impact of climate change, according to Willis Towers Watson.

Teachers, municipal employees, and other pension beneficiaries are shaping agendas, including “reducing emissions from portfolios and investing in assets that will support the transition towards a low-carbon economy,” the report said. A growing number of the pension and sovereign wealth funds on the list are hoping to address societal issues without having to give up on financial returns. Some of the techniques they are employing to do that include implementing passive investment strategies, rather than more expensive active funds.

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