Pension Trustees must diversify investment portfolios to safeguard against shocks

On April 1, 2023, 7:31 AM

The Chief Investment Officer of Stanbic Investment Management Services (SIMS), George Allotey, has advised Pension Trustees to take advantage of alternative offerings in the Policy Guidelines of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to diversify their investments so as to protect their funds against shocks as currently being experienced.

He said this at the fifth edition of the Pension Strategy Conference organized by Axis Pension Trust in Accra.

Addressing the issue on what the NPRA can do to help Pension Trustees protect their investments given the current inimical economic conditions that they operate in, George Allotey said, “If you look critically at the pension investment guidelines 2021, there are a lot of spaces in there. It doesn’t prescribe a minimum exposure in Government of Ghana; it rather prescribes a maximum exposure. So, it’s not as though our hands have been tied. Our pensions sector is only 12 years so we are still learning and gradually the NPRA has been progressive. We trustees have not yet done even one per cent of alternatives so there are many opportunities for us to explore before we start blaming the regulator. There is a lot of work for us the trustees to do to develop products so people can invest in.”

“We must also start holding government accountable for what they use our funds for. If we, in the pensions industry, control about GHS 30 billion funds and the government wants to raise GHS 1 billion and they listen to other fund holders why shouldn’t they listen to us? It’s time we start making our voices heard as critical partners in the financial system,” he added.

The Pension Strategy Conference is an annual event that brings together pension trustees and asset owners, regulators, policymakers and other stakeholders to discuss strategies for navigating the challenging investment landscape. The conference provides a platform for experts to share insights, best practices and innovative ideas for managing pension funds in the current economic climate. This year’s conference was held under the theme, “Positioning Pension Funds to thrive beyond the Domestic Debt Exchange”.

Story By B&FT