Global Top-Performing Sovereign Wealth Fund Warns of a U.S. Stock Pullback

New Zealand Superannuation Fund Chief Executive Joe Townsend warned on Wednesday that U.S. stocks may be due for a pullback. According to Sina Finance, the fund reported a 14.2% return for the year through June 30, while Global SWF earlier this year ranked it as the best-performing sovereign wealth fund of its kind. The New Zealand Superannuation Fund said its assets rose by NZ$9.3 billion in the fiscal year, although its return was 0.1 percentage point below its benchmark. Townsend said the strong performance in 2026 does not change her view that the high returns investors have enjoyed in recent years are likely to ease. She said U.S. stock annualized returns over the past few years have been close to twice the annualized return of the past 20 years, and that she expects markets to revert to the mean at some point. The fund’s average annual return over the past 20 years was 9.68%. The fund also lowered its long-term annual expected return from 7.8% to 7.2% earlier this year and cut its active risk budget. Its latest disclosed portfolio, as of the end of December last year, showed Nvidia as the largest holding at NZ$3 billion, followed by Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon among its top five holdings by market value.