Nico pension assets grow 10 times
Nico Asset Managers, a subsidiary of Nico Holdings plc, says assets for Nico Life Insurance and Nico Pensions have grown since the enactment of the Pension Act of 2010.
Speaking at a client engagement seminar in Mzuzu on Friday, Nico Asset Managers chief investments officer Daniel Dunga said the assets have grown from K26 billion in 2011 to about K280 billion as of September this year.
He, however, said in total the company is managing over K500 billion assets from other clients including Standard Bank plc, Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc and Toyota Malawi.
Dunga said the assets are in different forms, including 40 percent invested in the Malawi Stock Exchange, 30 percent in various properties across the country and the other money is in treasury bills and treasury notes.
“Pension money is the future source of a living because everybody has the expiry date to earn money either through a salary or running a business. So, one needs to set up a structure that will continue to meet his or her financial obligations and pension is a significant part of that structure,” he said.
Nico Life Insurance Company chief executive officer Eric Chapola cited non-remittance as a concern to the industry. He said some employers are not remitting funds which is affecting members as they may lose out in investment returns, and claims may be delayed as a result. In his presentation, Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) pension and insurance regulation principal examiner Pachalo Luhanga said the bank has put in place various measures to address the issue of non-remittance.
