As of the end of September 2023, Pension Fund Administrators had invested a total of N130.18 billion from funds under the Contributory Pension Scheme in infrastructure projects. Information from the National Pension Commission’s ‘Unaudited report on pension funds industry portfolio for the period ended 30 September 2023’ indicated these figures. The overall assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme during this period amounted to N17.35 trillion. Additionally, a portion of the funds was utilized in various investments such as domestic and foreign ordinary shares, federal and state governments’ securities, and money market instruments, among other avenues.
The investment regulations amended by the commission outlined the criteria for deploying the funds, aligning with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act of 2014. According to these regulations, pension fund custodians are mandated to follow written instructions exclusively from licensed Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) regarding the investment and management of pension fund assets held by the Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) on behalf of contributors.
The regulations further state that PFCs, in fulfilling their contractual responsibilities to PFAs, should not delegate the custody of pension fund assets to third parties except for permissible investments made outside Nigeria. In the case of such allowable foreign investments, prior approval from the commission is required before engaging a global custodian. The regulations also emphasize that PFAs, while discharging their contractual duties to contributors, are restricted from outsourcing the investment and management of pension fund assets to third parties, except for open/close-end/hybrid funds and specialist investment funds allowed by the regulation.
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