Thai pension fund not rushing into equities

Thailand’s US$28 billion (RM116.77 billion) Government Pension Fund is wary of buying equities after the recent trade war-induced slide because it’s tough to predict when hostilities will end.

The fund generated an “excellent return” of about three per cent in the first four months of this year mainly because it increased equity holdings in December and January, said Vitai Ratanakorn, the state money manager’s secretary-general.

The United States-China trade dispute might affect its performance but a full-year return of more than five per cent should be achievable, he said.

“There is no rush to boost equity investments right now,” said Vitai on Monday. “The financial markets will be extremely volatile as it’s hard to know what the outcome of the trade war would be.”

The standoff between the US and China is again dominating emerging-market investors’ concerns as they assess how to price in a full-blown trade war.

Thailand’s Government Pension Fund, which oversees retirement savings for more than one million state officials, posted a gain of 0.2 per cent from investments last year, capping its worst year since a 5.2 per cent loss during the 2008 global financial crisis, said Vitai.