2016-03-04
The year 2015 was particularly successful for 3rd pillar pension funds operating in Lithuania. Their assets grew by a third and the number of participants accumulating their pension in these funds rose by nearly a fifth. The investment funds market saw opposite trends: the value of assets as well as the number of participants declined.
‘The results of different 3rd pillar pension funds vary due to global financial market fluctuations, but the sector’s overall performance is very high. Fortunately, an increasingly higher number of individuals decide to explore additional pension accumulation possibilities, allocating part of their funds for supplementary voluntary accumulation of pensions. Such decisions suggest that individuals take care of their future responsibly,’ claims Audrius Šilgalis, Chief Specialist of the Financial Services and Markets Analysis Division of the Bank of Lithuania.
The assets managed by supplementary voluntary accumulation pension funds grew by 29.34 per cent over 2015, to EUR 61.55 million at the end of December.
The bulk of pension fund units grew in value in 2015, by an average 3.6 per cent. The unit value of equity pension funds grew the most — by an average 4.8 per cent; that of mixed investment rose less — by 3.3 per cent; of bond pension funds — by 1.7 per cent.
The major share of 3rd pillar PF investment (47.22%) consisted of investment in equity and collective investment undertakings (CIU) investing in equity. Investment in government securities accounted for 29.22 per cent, in corporate debt securities and debt security CIUs — 10.79 per cent.
At the end of 2015, a total of 12 supplementary voluntary pension accumulation funds operated in Lithuania. The number of their participants grew by 18.53 per cent over 2015, to 47,333 at the end of December.
At the end of 2015, the number of CIUs established in Lithuania was 20; the number of their participants declined by 9.97 per cent over a year — to 13,787.
In 2015, the total asset value of CIUs in Lithuania dropped by 13.13 per cent, to EUR 226.46 million at the end of the year. While the investment activity of funds was successful, the decline in the number of funds and unit redemption outnumbering their distribution led to a general decline in the assets managed.
In 2015, the value of CIU units rose by an average 4.2 per cent. The unit values of equity CIUs increased by 4.2 per cent, of mixed investment CIUs by 3.4 per cent, of debt security CIUs by 6.6 per cent.
As an alternative to CIUs registered in Lithuania, investors choose foreign funds. The units of 55 CIUs registered abroad, with 333 sub-funds, were distributed in Lithuania at the end of 2015. The value of the units of foreign CIUs distributed in Lithuania amounted to EUR 386.56 million; the value of their assets grew by 14.94 per cent — to EUR 50.23 million over a year. 50.76 thousand participants had invested in these funds, their number increasing by 15.80 per cent over a year.
The year 2015 was successful for 2nd pillar pension funds. There were 21 of them in Lithuania at the end of December last year. Their assets grew by 13.55 per cent over a year, to EUR 2,120.85 at the end of the year. More information about the results of 2nd pillar pension funds is available in the already published review of the Bank of Lithuania.