Nigeria’s Pension Fund Assets Experience Slight Decline, Settling at N19.67tn in March
In a recent update from the National Pension Commission, Nigeria’s pension fund assets have seen a slight decrease, settling at N19.67tn as of March 31, 2024.
This figure marks a 0.45 percent drop from the N19.76 tn net asset value reported in February of the same year. The commission’s monthly report highlighted that the bulk of the pension fund investments remain in Federal Government of Nigeria securities, which account for approximately N12.20tn, or 62.03 percent of the total net asset value.
Other significant allocations include N2.06tn in corporate debt securities and N1.77tn in money market instruments.
Notably, investments in shares of local companies have increased by 8.72 per cent, reaching N2.08tn up from N1.92tn in the preceding month. Fund II continues to hold the majority of the Active Retirement Savings Account Funds allocation, with N8.3315tn, representing 42.35 per cent of the total fund net asset value.
Fund III has also seen growth, increasing by 1.19tn from N5.11tn to N5.17tn, and maintains its position as the second-largest fund allocation. The membership of the Retirement Savings Account has grown modestly by 0.22 percent in March, with the number of members reaching 10,280,956, up from 10,258,611 in February.
Over a broader timeline, pension funds’ net asset values have shown a significant increase from N14.9tn in December 2022 to N19.7tn in March 2024, a substantial growth of N4.8tn or 32.2 per cent. This surge is in stark contrast to the period between 2021 and 2022, where the assets rose by only N1.57tn.
The upward trend is attributed to a combination of increased pension fund contributions and a rise in the value of investment portfolios. For instance, the net asset values of FGN Securities have climbed from N9.64tn in 2022 to N11.89tn as of March 2024, reflecting the dynamic nature of the pension fund landscape in Nigeria.
