The recent report released by National Pension Commission on pension fund assets showed that the total value of pension assets rose year on year (y-o-y) to N12.30 trillion in January 2021.
The amount represents an increase of 17.92 per cent compared with N10.43 trillion reported inJanuary 2020.
According to the report, most of the pension fund assets were invested in FGN.
Securities. However, its share of the total assets moderated to 65.92 per cent or N8.11 trillion in the month under review, from a 70.96 per cent or N7.40 trillion recorded in 2020, as pension managers moved funds away from Treasury bills given the collapse
of the yields, particularly in the money market, to record low single-digits amid CBN’s
accomodative stance to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
As Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) shifted focus from investment in T-bills, investment preference drifting towards Local Money Market Securities (LMMS) as total funds invested in this space rose y-o-y by 39.61 per cent to N1.65 trillion in January 2021 lifting its share of the total assets to 13.40 per cent from N1.18 trillion in January 2020 or 11.31 per ceny of total assets.
Total invested fund in Corporate Debt Securities as a percentage of total pension fund assets stood at 6.80 per cent or N0.84 trillion in January 2021 from 6.25 per cent or N0.65 trillion in January 2020.
However, funds invested in Real Estate Properties as a fraction of the total pension fund assets dropped to N0.16 trillion or 1.29 per cent from N0.22 trillion or 2.09 per cent in the period under review.
Similarly, Cash and Other Assets which constituted 1.04 per cent or N127.43 billion of the total pension fund assets in January 2021 build up from 0.28 per cent or N29.28 billion in January 2020.
