An Equable Institute report reveals that government pension funds are already benefiting significantly from the AI market boom, countering calls from President Trump and Bernie Sanders for government equity stakes in AI companies.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq has risen 21% over the last year and 71% over five years, driven by AI optimism. Non-tech companies like GE Vernova (up 49%) and Caterpillar (up 89%) have also surged, benefiting from AI data center demand.

Equable estimates that 8% to 10% of government pension funds are invested in 51 publicly traded AI-related companies, excluding private AI investments in firms like OpenAI and Anthropic. Pension funding ratios have reached 85% nationwide this year, the highest since 2007.

While AI yields strong returns for pension funds, Equable warns of potential risks amid market volatility.