The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has stated that pension fund investments totalling N5.51 trillion are playing a pivotal role in driving Nigeria’s real sector development.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oloworaran made this known in a statement issued by the Commission on Tuesday in Abuja, following a meeting with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the state of the pension industry and broader financial sector dynamics.
According to her, the pension assets have been strategically channelled into infrastructure, private equity, real estate, and subnational infrastructure initiatives, reinforcing the sector’s growing contribution to national economic growth and development.
She revealed that the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the pension industry recorded a substantial increase of 22.65%, rising from N18.36 trillion as at December 2023 to N22.51 trillion by December 2024. This, she said, was largely driven by consistent pension contributions and growing investment income.
Despite this significant growth, Oloworaran flagged the limited availability of investable instruments that meet the regulatory thresholds for pension fund deployment.
She noted that only 86 investable instruments, constituting part of the pension broad index, met the minimum quality requirement for pension fund investments that are liquid and have the required free float.
PenCom to create more investment avenues
This is despite provisions in PenCom’s Investment Regulation that aim to create more eligible investment avenues. She added that the Commission will ramp up efforts to collaborate with capital market stakeholders to expand the investable universe for pension funds.
- Going forward, PenCom plans to intensify engagement with key institutions such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Debt Management Office (DMO), and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) to strengthen regulation and promote more innovative financial instruments.
- She said that these efforts were to strengthen the overall investment portfolio and reinforce the long-term growth and sustainability of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
- Oloworaran also highlighted PenCom’s ongoing strategic review of investment frameworks, addressing issues such as asset quality, financing for economic growth, and regulatory constraints facing pension fund managers.
She reiterated the Commission’s commitment to fostering the development of alternative asset classes that are both secure and return-generating. This includes green bonds, infrastructure funds, and venture capital funds that can boost Nigeria’s long-term growth trajectory.
IMF lauds PenCom
The IMF team, led by Mr. Jose Luna, Senior Financial Sector Expert, expressed satisfaction with PenCom’s investment strategy and regulatory oversight.
He praised the Commission’s focus on long-term investment principles and acknowledged its contribution to deepening Nigeria’s financial markets.
