Additional Pension Fund Assets Invested in Banks in Third Quarter (Q3) of 2021

The National Pension Commission has released a new report on pension fund assets, which has shown that investment in Local Money Market Securities had more pension fund assets invested in banks than in papers through Open Market Operations, as well as fixed deposits of banks in the third quarter of 2021.

The report from the NPC also showed that the total invested fund placed with banks as a percentage of the total pension fund assets sat at 17.10 percent, which translates to N2.22 trillion in September, rising from 13.15 percent or N1.66 trillion in June 2020.

It showed that investment in commercial papers which constitutes about 0.5 percent of investment in pension fund assets, went down to N0.68 trillion from N0.72 trillion (which constitutes 0.57 percent).

The report also addressed corporate debt securities, stating that the amount invested in the space went up by 1.82 percent to N0.97 trillion in Q3 from the N0.95 trillion which it had recorded in Q2.

Cash and other assets which are responsible for 0.46 percent (or N59.79 billion) of the total pension fund assets in September 2021 also fell from 0.59 percent (or N74 billion) in June 2021.

All funds invested in real estate properties as a section of the total pension fund assets went down to 1.18 percent (or N153.4 billion) from 1.24 percent (or 156.88 billion) in the period which was under review.

Cowry Research analysts discovered that the increased investment by the Pesnion Fund Administrators (PFA) in bank placements was mainly to take advantage of the relatively high yields in the short term without gaining much exposure to the risk that is inherent in the money market.

The Cowry analysts stated that the increased activities of pension managers in the equities market throughout Q3 2021 was on the platform of an improvement in the performance of corporate organizations as the Nigerian economy continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.