BPOPF sees fund growing to P90bn

The Fund’s AUM currently stands at P55.5 billion having grown 7.5% from P51.7 billion in 2015. Under a new five-year strategy to kick in next year, CEO Boitumelo Molefe says the fund will look to alternative asset classes to sustain growth as the traditional stock and bonds markets slow on sluggish domestic and global economic growth. According to Molefe, the Fund, which has 58% of its portfolio invested offshore, will seek growth opportunities from the alternative markets as the local stock market is attracting negative returns while the global investment market has been affected by slowing economic growth, no inflationary pressures and low interest rates.

“Going forward we will look to invest more in private equity as well as other asset classes such as infrastructure to diversify our portfolio in the face of low growth in the stock and bonds markets,” she said.  The Fund has also fully invested its property allocation where P1.5 billion has been invested in the local property market through its asset manager, Messidor.