The National Pension Commission (PenCom) data shows that as of April 30, 2024, the assets held by Nigeria’s pension funds had climbed to N19.787 trillion.
This represents an increase of roughly 0.6% over the N19.669 trillion net asset value that was reported in March 2024.
The numbers were made public in PenCom’s April 2024 monthly report.
This consistent rise demonstrates how resilient and expanding Nigeria’s pension fund industry is in spite of the country’s economic difficulties.
A comprehensive examination of the pension fund portfolio, according to the report, reveals a sizeable allocation to Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) securities, which still control a large portion of the investment market.
Approximately N12.396 trillion, or 62.65% of the total net asset value (NAV), is invested in FGN securities.
Additionally, pension funds have allocated N2.095 trillion to corporate debt securities and N1.952 trillion to money market instruments. These allocations reflect a diversified approach to managing pension assets, aimed at balancing risk and returns.
The study also notes a noteworthy drop in investments in common shares of regional businesses, though. From N2.082 trillion in March to N1.822 trillion in April, the value of these investments decreased by 12.49%.
Fund II, the default Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Fund under the Multi-Fund Structure, retained the highest allocation to the Active RSA Funds, with N8.303 trillion, or 41.96% of the total fund NAV.
Fund III experienced growth as well, going from N5.173 trillion in March 2024 to N5.216 trillion in April 2024, an increase of 0.83%, which allowed it to remain the second-largest allocation.
Fund IV reported N1.447 trillion in April 2024, which is 1.18% more than what was reported in March 2024.
In terms of RSA membership, there was a slight increase of 0.33%, with the number of members rising from 10,280,956 in March 2024 to 10,315,034 in April 2024.
Pension Funds, Net Asset Values have risen from N14.9 trillion in December 2022 to N19.8 trillion or a whopping N4.8 trillion representing an 32.89% increase.
For context, between 2021 and 2022, Pension Fund Assets rose by just N1.57 trillion from N13.42 trillion to N14.99 trillion.
The rise is likely linked to a combination of a surge in pension fund contributions and a rise in portfolio values.
For example, FGN Securities has seen its Net Asset Values rise from N9.64 trillion in 2022 to N12.06 trillion as of April 2024.
