By Chinwendu Obienyi
Recent data released by industry analysts in the pension industry have said Access Pensions, Nigerian Police Force Pensions and others closed 2022 as top PFAs by investment returns across the four main retirement savings accounts funds.
Globally, 2022 was a difficult year for financial markets as rate hikes by global central banks drove bearish sentiments across most asset classes.
In Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) responded to rising inflation with an increase in the key monetary policy rate from 11.5 per cent to 16.5 per cent by the end of the year whereas, average pension fund returns across the four funds was 8.97 percent, 9.55 percent, 9.86 percent, and 10.22 percent for Fund I, II, III and IV respectively year on year.
NPF Pensions is a special interest pension fund administrator dedicated to managing pensions for members of the Nigerian Police force while Access Pensions was formed from the merger of the erstwhile Sigma Pensions Limited and First Guarantee Pensions Limited.
Among the open PFAs not dedicated to a special interest group, Access Pensions topped the pack with Leadway in second place and CrusaderSterling in third place. In terms of returns, these three PFAs delivered returns above the peer average across their four main funds.
2022’s top performance is a significant milestone for Access Pensions following the entry of Access Corporation into the pension space and this strong investment returns makes it an attractive choice for those looking to invest in a well-managed pension fund.
In 2022, despite the difficult macroeconomic environment, aggregate pension assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) hit the NGN15trillion looking at data from the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
The Nigerian pension industry has entered a period of heightened competition following the opening of the transfer window in 2020 and the development alongside the N5billion recapitalization exercise has resulted in a greater level of rivalry among players in the space with focus on investment performance, service levels and brand visibility. This has also resulted in a wave of mergers and acquisitions which has seen banks make inroads into the space.