The voluntary pensions temperate their investments in stocks

According to the data of the Romanian Private Pension Supervisory Commission (CSSPP), at the end of June, the market of the voluntary pensions has continued the process of consolidation, recording significant increases. In the first six months of the year the voluntary segment has significantly diversified the portfolio of investments, recording a reverse of the investments percentage from banking deposits towards public titles and municipal bonds. The voluntary pension pillar (III) recorded at the end of June, 110.316 participants with 25% more then at the end of May and twice over the number of customers at the end of 2007. The net assets collected by those seven funds have reached to 40,14 million lei (11 million euro), in increase with 16,2% against the level of May.

Prudential placements

The weight of deposits in the total of the placements effectuated by the voluntary pension funds has decreased from 70% at the end of last year at almost 16% at the end of June, while the weight of the public titles and of the municipal bonds has increased from 21% to 69%. In the first half of the year, it has increased the funds interest for the public and municipal bonds, as also for the transacted corporative bonds, the last ones reaching to a weight of 6% from the amount of placements, from about 1% at the end of last year. The corporative bonds have been purchased both from the Bucharest Stock Exchange, as from the regulated markets from the European Union member states. In the same time, the stocks have been bought in totality from the Romanian capital market in the first six months of last year, the placements in these instruments recording an advance from 1% to 9%. The structure of investments from the Third Pillar has however suffered a few changes against the end of May, when the stocks represented 10% from the portfolio, the deposits 14 %, and the titles 71%. After the one year derogation from the diversification of the portfolio, the voluntary funds have started to invest in stocks, but the current incertitude from the capital market determines them to avoid these placements.

Big diversification

The fund BCR Prudent, the biggest fund in terms of assets volume, has placed until the end of May, 81,5% from the assets in the public titles, and the rest in banking deposits. The fund ING Optim, occupying the first position in terms of the number of 25.590 participants, has invested 59,6% from the assets in titles 19,6% in municipal bonds, 4,5% in corporative bonds, 8,9% in stocks and 7,2% in banking deposits. The ING Clasic fund has relatively a similar distribution: 61,6% titles, 19,7% municipal bonds, 5,5% corporative bonds, 10,3% listed stocks, 2,7% banking deposits.

The fund AZT Moderato has invested in the listed stocks 15,5% from the assets, while 58,3% were invested in public titles. In the banking deposits the company has invested 8,4% from the assets, and in corporative bonds 3,4%. At AZT Vivace, the weight of the placements in stocks was higher, respective of 29,6%, and 56,3% of the assets were invested in public titles.In the corporative bonds the fund invested 9,3% from the assets, of which 3,3% in traded bonds in the European Economic Space, and in banking deposits, almost 4,9%. The fund Aviva Pensia Mea invested 66,4% from the assets in titles and municipal bonds, 14,1% in listed stocks, 11,5% in deposits, 4,4% in mutual funds and 3,5% in corporative bonds. The fund OTP Strateg didn’t manage to collect yet the million of lei of assets in order to diversify its portfolio, having placements only in banking deposits.

The funds expand in territory

The balance sheet on the first half of the Commission reveals significant increases of the number of participants at the third Pillar in territory. The territorial distribution indicates the fact that most of the participants of the voluntary funds work in the Bucharest-Ilfov region (19% of the total), being fallowed by the regions Centre and North-West (15% each), South-East (13%), South and North-East (11% each), West (9%) and South-West (7%). The average on county has reached to 2,4%.According to the CSSPP statistics, related to the area of activity of the participants to the third Pillar, the most customers work in the domain of financial intermediation (23%), being fallowed of the ones from industry (16%), trade (6%), constructions (3%), transportation (3%), public administration (2%), agriculture (1%). The CSSPP data show that 19% of the voluntary pension customers didn’t specify
the area of activity in the adhesion document.