Data by the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) shows NSSF cash externally managed by four fund managers contracted by the fund dropped to Sh190.26 billion in June 2021.
Investments internally managed by NSSF in the review period soared 65.42 percent to Sh89.41 billion from Sh54.41 billion.
Overall, the value of retirees’ savings under the state-controlled fund grew by Sh15.86 billion, or 6.01 percent, to Sh279.67 billion in the period.
The value of National Social Security Fund (NSSF) assets under fund managers fell by Sh19.5 billion in the first six months of the year on the back of underperformance in majority of firms trading on the Nairobi bourse.
Data by the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) shows NSSF cash externally managed by four fund managers contracted by the fund dropped to Sh190.26 billion in June 2021 from Sh209.76 billion last December.
“What’s happening in that slump is a reflection of what’s happening in the stock market. Only four of our key counters performed very well, and that’s largely Safaricom, KCB and Equity which did well and gave us a boost,” NSSF Managing trustee Anthony Omerikwa said.
Investments internally managed by NSSF in the review period soared 65.42 percent to Sh89.41 billion from Sh54.41 billion.
This was largely boosted by internally managed investments in quoted equities which jumped to Sh20.58 billion in June 2021 from Sh5.3 billion six months earlier.
This came at a time the state-run pension fund dropped British American Asset Managers — which was its largest external fund manager with Sh82.29 billion— and replaced it Co-op Trust Investments Services which made a comeback after six years.
“We normally bring fund managers on board through a procurement process and through the rigors of the procurement process, we take the best. The ones who are left out, it doesn’t mean they are not good,” Dr Omerikwa said.
“It’s based on a criterion that’s informed by Public procurement and Disposal Act of 2015, our investment policy statement and other mandatory requirements.”
He spoke after the NSSF was issued with International Organization for Standardization’s Business Continuity Management (BCMS 22301:2019) certification by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, becoming the first public entity to attain such status.
Overall, the value of retirees’ savings under the state-controlled fund grew by Sh15.86 billion, or 6.01 percent, to Sh279.67 billion in the period.
The NSSF’s growth outpaced the overall pension industry growth rate of 5.66 percent in total assets under management to Sh1.478 trillion.
NSSF is arguably the largest investor in publicly-traded firms on the Nairobi bourse with exposure in more than 20 firms, including KenGen, Kenya Power, BAT Kenya, NIC Bank and Co-operative Bank.
