The total assets under management (AuM) by Nigerian Pension Funds fell for the second consecutive month in February 2021, according to the latest data from regulator PENCOM, as a lack of reforms and poor leadership continues to stymie the industry.
Pension Assets fell by 0.42 percent to N12.247 trillion about $29.8 billion in February 2021, down from N12.299 trillion in January 2021, and N12.306 trillion in December 2020.
Total AuM for the industry increased by a mere 0.01 percent month on month (m/m), between November and December 2020, MoneyCentral’s analysis shows.
That was the slowest rate of growth since March 2020, when pension assets fell by -1.72 percent as firms laid off workers and contributors pulled out funds to shore up their living expenses amid the coronavirus lockdowns.
For the month of February 2021, Fund Managers pulled back on exposure to domestic ordinary shares as equities retreated, while there was a slight increase in AuM exposed to FGN and Corporate Debt Securities as yields begun to creep higher.
MoneyCentral in a comprehensive story published in February detailed how lackluster leadership at PENCOM is frittering away the gains the Nigerian pensions industry has made over the past decade.
The slowdown in growth seems to confirm our thesis.
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