Australia's Future Fund held 44.9% of its portfolio in listed shares at 30 September 2026, with the rest spread across private equity, infrastructure, timberland, property, credit, alternatives and cash. It is a very different mix from Norway's predominantly public-market portfolio. Its disclosed investments include data centres, renewable-energy projects and residential-development finance, alongside a substantial alternatives programme.
Key takeaways
- Australia's Future Fund held 44.9% of its portfolio in listed shares at 30 September 2026, a very different mix from Norway's predominantly public-market portfolio. Private equity, property, infrastructure and timberland together added to 27.1% of the A$289.9 billion fund, alongside 8.4% credit, 14.9% alternatives and 4.7% cash.
- Future Fund's lower listed-equity percentage does not mean the portfolio has correspondingly little exposure to economic growth. The separately reported 12.1% in private equity adds business ownership outside listed exchanges, and private companies still depend on profits, financing and buyers willing to pay for them.
- Future Fund's named real investments carry different cash flows and risks, even though they share a connection to physical assets. In 2025/26 the fund added capital for CDC Data Centres, increased its ownership of Tilt Renewables and set up a new Australian residential-development financing mandate.
- Future Fund relies less on global interest-rate exposure for diversification and more on alternatives, commodities and currencies. Its 14.9% alternatives allocation is separate from its 12.1% private-equity allocation, and the fund reports that commodity exposure helped protect the portfolio during the conflict in and around Iran.
What is Future Fund's actual asset allocation?
The fund was worth A$289.9 billion at 30 September 2026. The quarterly portfolio update released on 5 November 2026, Table 2, breaks its holdings into nine categories. These figures describe the Future Fund itself, not the other public funds managed by the same agency.
At 30 September 2026: Australian equities 10.0%; developed-market global equities 30.1%; emerging-market global equities 4.9%; private equity 12.1%; property 3.7%; infrastructure and timberland 11.3%; credit 8.4%; alternatives 14.9%; cash 4.7%. Like the June update, it labels its figures unaudited, and the rounded weights add to 100.1%.
The three listed-equity categories held A$130.2 billion, or 44.9% of the fund; their rounded weights add to 45.0%. Private equity, property, infrastructure and timberland together held 27.1%, although those categories alone do not provide a precise measure of liquidity. Credit and alternatives can contain different structures with different terms for accessing money.
The fund returned 0.0% over the September quarter. Since 30 June, listed equities rose from 44.2% to 44.9% and credit from 8.1% to 8.4%, while cash fell from 5.4% to 4.7%. These changes reflect market movements as well as transactions. The chart below and its CSV show the 30 June 2026 mix at the end of the fund's financial year.
At 30 June 2026: Australian equities 10.5%; developed-market global equities 29.1%; emerging-market global equities 4.6%; private equity 12.1%; property 3.8%; infrastructure and timberland 11.5%; credit 8.1%; alternatives 14.9%; cash 5.4%. Source: portfolio update released 26 August 2026, PDF page 3; chart data (CSV). At that date the three listed-equity categories added to 44.2%, and private equity, property, infrastructure and timberland to 27.4%.
What does its equity allocation reveal?
Listed shares remain the largest combined allocation, with developed markets outside Australia taking the largest individual share at 30.1% in September 2026. Australian equities accounted for a further 10.0% and emerging markets 4.9%. The separately reported 12.1% in private equity adds business ownership outside listed exchanges.
Private companies still depend on profits, financing and buyers willing to pay for them. A lower listed-equity percentage therefore does not mean the portfolio has correspondingly little exposure to economic growth. The public/private distinction describes the form of ownership and market access as well as the investment's risk.
During 2025/26, Future Fund introduced an active emerging-market equity mandate with Northcape and established new private-equity manager relationships in Japan and Europe (annual highlights). Those decisions show the fund selecting particular managers and markets within the broad categories, rather than treating every equity exposure as interchangeable.
Which real investments sit behind the categories?
The fund's 2025/26 review names three domestic areas where it deployed capital: digital infrastructure, renewable energy and housing finance.
Reported 2025/26 activity: additional capital for CDC Data Centres; increased ownership of Tilt Renewables; a new Australian residential-development financing mandate. These are selected investments, not a complete portfolio or an allocation by weight. Source: Future Fund's annual highlights.
CDC received capital to support construction of its data-centre pipeline. Tilt's wind projects under construction in South Australia and Western Australia contributed to 2.3 GW of generating capacity in operation or under construction. The housing mandate finances residential construction; it is not simply a portfolio of completed rental homes.
These investments participate in different cash flows and risks. Data centres depend on customer demand, power and development execution. Renewables depend on project delivery, electricity markets and contracts. Housing finance takes lending risk during construction. A shared connection to physical assets does not make their economics identical.
Future Fund reported almost A$20 billion invested in domestic infrastructure in its June update. That exposure sits within the overall portfolio and should not be added to the 11.5% infrastructure-and-timberland category reported for the same date as a separate allocation.
Why does it hold alternatives and commodities?
Future Fund's 14.9% alternatives allocation is separate from its 12.1% private-equity allocation. The annual review describes concentrating alternatives capital with selected managers and reducing strategies whose exposures were already covered elsewhere in the portfolio (annual highlights). It also developed vehicles able to provide capital during market dislocations.
The fund says it relies less on global interest-rate exposure for diversification and more on alternatives, commodities and currencies. It reports that commodity exposure helped protect the portfolio during the conflict in and around Iran. The published allocation table does not give a separate commodity weight, so the size of that exposure cannot be read directly from the chart.
The investment rationale is to have sources of return that can respond differently when inflation, geopolitics or financing conditions change. The outcome still depends on the strategy, position size and shock. A category called “alternatives” is not, by itself, evidence that losses elsewhere will be offset.
How does the fund manage money tied up in private assets?
Cash was 4.7% of the portfolio at 30 September 2026, down from 5.4% in June, alongside listed investments that can generally be traded more readily than private holdings. The fund expanded private-equity co-investment vehicles with existing managers and gradually expanded private-credit co-investments during the year (annual highlights).
It also participated in private-equity secondary transactions as both a buyer and a seller. That market lets investors transfer existing private interests, but a sale may take time and the price may differ from the reported valuation. Private investments do not become as liquid as listed shares simply because a secondary market exists.
The June update says government withdrawals are not expected until at least 2032-33. That supports a long investment horizon, while commitments, expenses and market opportunities still require liquidity along the way.
What can an individual investor learn from this mix?
Future Fund makes several distinct choices: a sizeable public-equity allocation, meaningful private ownership, selected real assets, active alternatives and cash. The case for each part depends on the underlying investment and the rest of the portfolio. Adding a private company or data-centre investment may change liquidity more than it changes exposure to growth or technology demand.
For an individual, the practical starting point is to distinguish money available for near-term spending from investments that may take years to realise. Then examine whether a new holding adds a different source of income or repeats an existing exposure in a less liquid form.
Compare NZ Super's farms, timber and private investments and Norway's public-market allocation, or explore the five portfolios together.
FAQ
What is the Future Fund’s actual asset allocation?
At 30 September 2026, Future Fund held 44.9% listed equities, 12.1% private equity, 11.3% infrastructure and timberland, 3.7% property, 8.4% credit, 14.9% alternatives and 4.7% cash. The listed-equity figure adds the reported Australian, developed-market and emerging-market holdings in dollars; their rounded weights add to 45.0%.
Which Australian assets does Future Fund invest in?
Its 2025/26 review reports additional capital for CDC Data Centres, increased ownership of Tilt Renewables and a new mandate for residential development financing. The June 2026 portfolio update reports almost A$20 billion invested in domestic infrastructure.
Does Future Fund’s alternatives allocation mean private equity?
No. The September 2026 update reports alternatives at 14.9% and private equity separately at 12.1%, the same weights as in June. The alternatives programme includes manager strategies intended to provide distinct returns and investments designed for market dislocations.
