Retirement funds in Kenya hold about Sh1 trillion in assets, meaning they can become key institutional investors in financing infrastructure development across the country.
Three quarters of their assets are held in government securities, with the remainder shared out between equities, real estate, bank deposits, corporate bonds, offshore investments and private equity.
Introduction of tax incentives can help unlock billions of shillings held by pension funds to go towards infrastructure investments, a fund administrator has said.
Alexander Forbes Financial Services executive director James Olubayi said on Friday that the Treasury ought to do more to encourage the funds to invest in both infrastructure and new asset classes introduced recently.
This will also help in diversifying the asset base of funds, improving the returns for retirees at a time many Kenyans were unable to afford basic cost of living upon retirement.
“The national government can relook the sector and offer tax incentives to make diversification of the asset base more attractive to pension funds,” said Mr Olubayi on the sidelines of the firm’s annual general meeting on Friday.
Retirement funds in Kenya hold about Sh1 trillion in assets, meaning they can become key institutional investors in financing infrastructure development across the country.
Three quarters of their assets are held in government securities, with the remainder shared out between equities, real estate, bank deposits, corporate bonds, offshore investments and private equity.
