EPF - ETF funds stable: Amunugama

Senior Minister of International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama told Parliament yesterday that the investments made by utilising the funds belonging to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees Trust Fund (ETF) are stable and were done according to stipulated procedure.

Dr. Amunugama who responded to a question raised by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremsinghe yesterday said the investments made by the EPF and ETF were long term and stable ones.

“The EPF is confident that its sound investment decisions will be proved pragmatic, sensible and profitable over the longer time frame,”he said.

He said the EPF has authority to make investments in the stock market as the EPF Act Section 5 (1) states that the Monetary Board may invest the monies of the Fund in such securities as the Monetary Board consider fit and may sell such securities. He said the EPF has also consistently maintained that all its investments have been made in-line with the guidelines issued from time to time by the Monetary Board.

Dr. Amunugama said that the EPF has invested around 93 percent of its funds in government securities and around six percent in the stock market.

He said the investments in the stock market are long term ones and are aimed at generating profit and enhance the Fund’s capital base over the long term.

Referring to the current status of the stock market he said what is currently experienced in the Colombo Stock Exchange is a bearish trend in the market, where prices of all shares are trading at considerably lower

The EPF is confident that its sound investment decisions will be proved pragmatic, sensible and profitable over the longer time frame

rates than those that prevailed several months ago.

“This is not an unusual phenomenon today, with almost all stock markets all over the world experiencing downturns.” he said.