Pension Fund Assets peaks at N9.03trn

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that the pension Funds asset has risen to N9.03 trillion as at March 2019, The assets gained N117 billion between February and March this year, even as N6.51 trillion of the assets was invested in Federal Government of Nigeria securities .
The commission in its monthly summary of pension fund assets, said the pension fund operators invested N4.46 trillion amounting to 49.37 per cent in FGN Bonds; N1.94 trillion in Treasury Bills (21.44 per cent);
N11.96 billion in Agency Bonds (NMRC & FMBN), (0.13 per cent); N94.11 billion in Sukku (1.04 per cent) and N8.51 billion in Green bonds, (0.09 per cent)
PenCom noted that in line the the Multi-fund structure, Retirement Saving Account (RSA) Fund 1, N12.73 billion was invested; RSA Fund 11, N3.99 trillion; RSA Fund 111, N2.15 trillion and RSA Fund IV, N732.13 billion.
It stated that N596.61 billion, which is 6.54 per cent of the funds, was invested in domestic ordinary shares; while N62.59 billion, amounting to 0.69 per cent in foreign ordinary shares.
The pension industry regulator maintained that pension operators invested N144.31 billion (1.60 per cent) in State Government’s Securities; Corporate bonds got N463.99 billion (5.4 per cent);
Corporate Infrastructure bonds, received N8.64 billion, (0.10 per cent); Corporate Green bonds, N5.46 billion(0.06 per cent) Supra-National Bonds got N5.37 billion (0.06 per cent); local money market, N874.39 billion, (9.68 per cent) commercial papers, N64.46 billion (0.71 per cent); Banks, N809.94 billion (8.97 per cent).
Others are, Reits, N14.27 billion, (0.16 per cent) Foreign Money Market Securities, N22.54 billion, (0.25 per cent); private equity fund, N32.34 billion, (0.36 per cent), Real Estate Properties, N231.37 billion, (2.56 per cent); infrastructure funds, N29.40 billion, (0.33 per cent) and cash & other assets, N25.16 billion, (0.28 per cent).
The Acting Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar said the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has greatly impacted the economy, stressing that the major visible areas of this impact are the economic and social spheres and that the pension assets, is slowly but surely changing Nigeria’s financial landscape and by extension, the course and pace of our socio-economic development.