Pension fund investments fall P6.7bn
Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday July 4, 2018 11:36
According to the data, the slump was due mainly to a 40% drop in the value of bonds held offshore by the local pension funds. The value of bonds held offshore fell to P5.8 billion in February, a month in which most other asset classes invested in by the pension funds were also weaker.
The central bank’s numbers indicate that offshore equities remain the most popular asset class for local pension funds, with 51% of their total assets of P76 billion invested there. The value of local pension fund assets invested in offshore equities fell by P1.8 billion in February, while holdings of domestic equities fell by P65 million to P14.3 billion.
Local pension funds have come under increased scrutiny in recent months due to the highly publicised legal troubles around the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF). The BPOPF accounts for the lion’s share of pension fund assets in Botswana.