Yemisi Izuora
Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs has invested over N5.38bn in the area of infrastructure, just as the National Pension Commission (PenCom), disclosed that the total assets under the management of the Contributory Pension Scheme rose to N7.09tn at the end of August 2017.
In May 2015, the operators invested a sum of N568m in infrastructure for the first time and increased it to N1.35bn in December 2015.
They invested N1.82bn in infrastructure bond in September 2016, and had gradually increased the pension funds invested in the portfolio.
The Chairman, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, Mr. Eguarehide Longe, said the pension funds were active in different investment portfolios.
According to him, the bulk of the funds have been invested in government bonds and some of the funds invested in infrastructure.
Ideally, he explained, the money that had been borrowed for a reasonable long term should be used for long-term assets and not to fund recurrent expenditure.
“We are there to invest in a way that the funds will not be lost,” he said.
According to him, if the funds are used for infrastructure, this will have significant impact on the economy.
Earlier in the year, the commission had reviewed the regulations of investment of pension funds. And in the reviewed regulations, PenCom had stated that the Pension Fund Administrators must offer a multi-fund structure for the Retirement Savings Account and that there would be a transition period of six months, effective from the commencement date of the multi-fund structure for all the PFAs to restructure their respective portfolios.