The National Social Security Fund's assets grew by 6.3 per cent in the second half of last year, the industry regulator has said.

The assets grew from Sh196.9 billion in June 2017 to Sh209.3 billion in December, a Sh12.4 billion jump, according to the latest data from the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA).

Some Sh65.9 billion of the assets are internally managed by the State-controlled fund.

“This Sh65.9 billion represents investments in immovable property of Sh43 billion, unquoted securities worth Sh1.5 billion, fixed deposits of Sh4.3 billion, Sh15.7 billion in quoted equities and Sh1.4 billion in cash,” says the RBA data.

The National Social Security Fund's (NSSF) externally managed funds also continued to increase over the period under review, growing from Sh133.6 billion in June to Sh143.3 billion in December.

Of the external fund managers, Gen Africa Asset Management has the largest asset portfolio with Sh35.6 billion. Stanlib Investments come second with Sh27.7 billion, while British American Asset Managers Ltd is third with Sh27.2 billion.

Others are Old Mutual with Sh26.7 billion and ICEA Lion with Sh25.9 billion.

Lags behind

While NSSF recorded an increase in assets that it can invest to create returns for workers making monthly contributions, it lags behind private fund manager Pinebridge Assets.

Pinebridge has the largest assets under fund management totalling Sh182.7 billion, which constitutes 20.2 per cent of the assets under management in the Kenyan pension industry.

The top five fund managers – Pinebridge, GenAfrica, Stanlib, Old Mutual and British American Assets - manage the bulk of the investments in the industry with the total assets under management by these funds amounting to Sh651.3 billion.

This amount is 72 per cent of the entire assets under fund management.

NSSF has over the years faced scrutiny on how it manages members’ funds, with questions hanging over some of its investments.

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