The Director General of the National Pension Commission, Mrs Aisha Dahiru-Umar, has said the commission released regulations for investing Nigeria’s N14.59 trillion in pension fund assets to ensure strict compliance by Licensed Pension Fund Operators (LPFOs).
Daily Trust reports that Nigeria’s total pension fund assets stand at N14.59 trillion as of the end of October 2022.
Speaking on Nigeria’s pension funds’ investments, the DG said all LPFOs are expected to carry out their investment activities in line with the requirements of the Regulation on Investment of Pension Fund Assets, as it served as the reference document for all investment activities carried out by the fund operators.
“Specifically, the investment regulation provides the allowable markets, allowable instruments, quality requirements, rating requirements and general principles for investing pension fund assets by LPFOs.
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“It is pertinent to clarify that the commission, as a regulator, is responsible for establishing rules, guidelines and standards for pension fund investments by LPFOs. Consequently, making investment decisions is the sole responsibility of PFAs based on their internal investment guidelines and governance frameworks.
“Accordingly, all LPFOs must do their internal due diligence in line with the investment objectives of safety and fair returns before investing in any securities or issuer,” she said.
Mrs Dahir-Umar further stated that the commission has instituted monitoring mechanisms to ensure good conduct by LPFOs in the pension fund investment process to mitigate potential risks in their investment activities and to ensure strict adherence to the requirements of the investment regulation.
She added that the PRA 2014 and the investment regulations have instituted appropriate sanctions for any infraction by LPFOs in the investment process.
