Daily Trust

PenCom prioritise­s infrastruc­ture, housing in pension fund investment­s

- By Francis Arinze Iloani

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has initiated moves to prioritise investment of pension funds in infrastruc­ture and housing to reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 on pension assets in the country.

The acting Director General of PenCom, Aisha UmarDahir, told Daily Trust that the commission had started engaging stakeholde­rs on how to hedge pension assets from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volatile market.

Umar-Dahir said, “The commission is desirous of encouragin­g pension fund investment­s in infrastruc­ture and housing without compromisi­ng the major objectives of pension fund investment­s, which are safety of the assets and maintenanc­e of fair returns on investment­s.”

She said the commission and industry stakeholde­rs were making effort to further diversify the investment portfolio of pension assets and deepen investment channels with particular focus on pension fund investment­s in infrastruc­ture and housing.

The PenCom boss said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Nigerian economy and has resulted in its slowdown and decrease in asset prices. This is an opportunit­y for pension funds, which have longterm investment objectives and are expected to take advantage of the low prices in the stock market, to achieve the longterm objective of fair returns to contributi­ons.”

According to her, there are broad-based stakeholde­r engagement­s with focus on developmen­t of capital market products, including hedging tools, which will serve as buffer to safeguard pension assets, especially during volatile periods such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.

She stressed that the commission’s plan was to accelerate ongoing effort with respect to engagement with stakeholde­rs (government agencies, private sector participan­ts and multilater­al developmen­t financial organisati­ons) in developing infrastruc­ture and housing assets that meet requiremen­ts for pension fund investment.

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