Pension Assets Hit N9.03tn

Ebere Nwoji

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that total pension assets in the country have risen to N9.030 trillion as at March 31, 2019, up from the N7.44 trillion it was in January.

The commission which disclosed this in publication obtained on its website yesterday, said these assets have been judiciously and prudently invested in 24 major asset classes to yield interests to the contributors

Giving a breakdown of how the assets were invested, the commission said federal government’s securities took a lion-share of the investment as it received well over N6.51 trillion, representing 72.9 per cent of the total assets.

Specifically, federal government bond got N 4,458,806.38 of the funds, representing 49.37 per cent of the total assets; while N1.94 trillion was invested in treasury bills (21.44 per cent); N11.96 billion in Agency Bonds (NMRC & FMBN), (0.13 per cent); N94.11 billion in Sukuk (1.04 per cent) and N8.51 billion in Green Bonds, (0.09 per cent.).

The commission also said in line with the Multi-fund structure, Retirement Saving Account (RSA) Fund 1, witnessed N12.73 billion investment and RSA Fund 11, recorded N3.99 trillion investment, RSA Fund 111, saw N2.15 trillion investment while RSA Fund IV, recorded N732.13 billion investment.

Furthermore, the report showed that N596.61 billion, which was 6.54 per cent of the funds, was invested in domestic ordinary shares; while N62.59 billion, amounting to 0.69 per cent was invested in foreign ordinary shares.

Similarly, while N144.31 billion (1.60 per cent) was invested 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 were 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, in a statement to this effect, said contrary to the belief by some Nigerians that the funds are in PenCom’s custody, they had been invested 100 in various asset classes and are yielding returns into the savings account of various contributors

A comparison of investment patterns of the funds between January and March, 2019 showed that whereas in January, 2019, investment in federal government securities took the lion share by having 72.91 per cent of the total fund invested, in March, it decreased slightly to 72.08 per cent of the fund.