BPOPF adopts new strategy
Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund ( BPOPF), the country’s largest pension fund with 166 080 members has launched its latest blueprint expected to guide the Fund’s operations over the next five years.
The plan dubbed Strategic Plan 2022 – 2027, will see the Fund craft new investment policy and strategy document, alternative investment policy, rules of the BPOPF and guidelines for apportionments of benefits. In addition, revisit code of conduct for Trustees, conditions of employment for Secretariat staff and financial regulations and tender procedures. The latest blueprint comes on the backdrop of the Fund having outsourced its major functions of fund administration, and has procured other related services such as actuarial, asset consulting, custodian as well as external auditors to provide an independent opinion on the financial status and affairs of the Fund, thereby promoting accountability. Chairman of the BPOPF Board of Trustees, Solomon Mantswe has challenged the Fund’s stakeholders to actively participate in implementing the new strategy. “It is the duty and responsibility of each one of us to actively play our role to ensure that the objectives set are attained as planned and that the long- term strategy adopted by the BPOPF to create wealth for its members,” said Mantswe at the 20th anniversary held recently in Gaborone. The Fund is optimistic that the new strategy will propel it to great heights and retain double digit returns that have been witnessed during the early years of the Fund, with the exception of 2003, 2009 and 2020. “We take pride in the resilience and robustness of our investment strategy which is premised on diversification both geographically and by asset class,” said Mantswe. Currently, BPOPF has an asset base of P93. 6 billion as of 31st December 2021 and pensioner assets were valued at P8.3 billion whilst the balance of P85.3 billion was for active and deferred pensioners. And 66.5 percent of the BPOPF assets were invested offshore whilst 33.5 percent were invested locally.