- Assets Under Management value grows to P108 billion
- Investment Strategy anchors BPOPF growth – Board Chair
The Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) reported an impressive 15 percent growth in its assets under management, closing the 2023-24 fiscal year with P108 billion worth of assets.
During a media briefing, the fund’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Moemedi Malindah, announced that the local equities portfolio significantly contributed to the fund’s strong growth, increasing to P16 billion from P13 billion in the previous year.
Malindah also said the active member portfolio grew by 16 percent during the year under review.
“The growth is purely an investment one and we will continue to diversify our investment portfolio. There has been a tremendous growth ever since the fund was established in 2001.”
Moreover, Malindah said progress is being made towards repatriation of investments as a way of having 50 percent investment based in Botswana, adding that would enable BPOPF to increase its investment capacity.
The regulator, Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) has introduced the new pension funds investment rules that bind local pension funds to keep a minimum of 50 percent of their assets in the country.
Known formally as the Pension Fund Rule 2 or PFR 2, the NBFIRA (Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority) statute previously required pension funds to invest at least 30 percent of their assets locally.
Malindah said BPOPF is deliberately increasing its domestic investment in local equities targeting the property market.
He said the trading conditions during the year under review were harsh, but BPOPF remained resilient.
For her part, BPOPF Board Chairperson Gaone Macholo said the pension fund has demonstrated resilience given the tough economic conditions adding that the investment strategy adopted is paying off
Macholo also said the commitment of the fund to offer members the best customer service has built their confidence and trust in BPOPF.
“The fund membership stands at 156 000 and we are grateful to the Government of Botswana which contributes P4.6 billion to the fund due to its employment creation,” said Macholo.
“We are dedicated to serving our members and ensuring that their benefits add value to them after retirement. In the last 18 months, 6,000 members retired and are reaping their investment benefits.”
Macholo said BPOPF strengthened its efforts to educate its members on how to effectively invest their benefits after retirement, buttressing that it is important for members to also seek advice first and not hurriedly obtain the 50 percent lump sum.
