The value of the country’s funds under management has hit $2 trillion for the first time, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

 “Today’s announcement is a significant milestone for Australia’s funds management industry which is now the fourth largest in the world,” John Brogden, CEO of the Financial Services Council (FSC) said.

“We have a world class superannuation system which will continue to grow and support Australians in their retirement and fund managers who have grown Australia’s pool of funds by a massive 665 per cent from $265 billion twenty years ago, to today’s figure of $2 trillion.”

Financial services is the largest sector of the Australian economy. It accounts for 10.5 per cent of Australia’s GDP, compared to 10.3 per cent for mining and 7.6 per cent for manufacturing; and directly employs 420,000 people – compared to 330,000 in agriculture and 265,000 in mining.

Mr Brogden also said: “Despite the $2 trillion amount, Australian’s still have a retirement savings gap of $1.06 trillion when you take into account those people who will live beyond average life expectancy.”

The FSC has called on bipartisanship from Canberra to commit to no further taxes on super to allow the system to mature and to achieve its objective for Australians to fund their retirement.