10 December 2019 - 14:27Despite the tough economic conditions and low economic growth rate in SA, the Government Employees Pension Fund had a return on investment of 2.6%, equating to R47bn during the 2018/2019 financial year. The fund’s market value of assets was R 1.82-trillion in the year under review, increasing by R17bn compared with the previous year.
The growth of the fund’s assets is pleasing as it is significantly higher than the collective performance of the top 300 pension funds in the world, which reported a decrease in assets under management of 0.4% in 2018.investment strategy. The accumulated funds and reserves grew an average of 11.2% duringpursuit of sustainable risk-adjusted returns.return of 2.3%.
The financial results once again highlight that the performance of the fund is not isolated from the country’s economic and development constraints. If the GEPF is to address thisinvestments. The GEPF invests in line with international best practice, diversifying its portfolio of investments through the Public Investment Corporation and other asset managers, to reduce its exposure to any one market risk and thereby maximise its return on investment. These decisions are
guided by and made in accordance with GEPF’s strategic asset allocation policy and risk-management systems.period, representing an R5bn increase from R70bn in 2018 to R75bn in 2019.The total benefits paid during the year under review increased by R8bn, mainly due to thein the pension payments was driven by the 5.5% monthly increase granted to pensionerspensioners increased, the fund experienced a slight decrease in active members by 0.6% toThe funding level is the fund’s financial gauge.