LIC Pension Fund is No. 1 NPS fund

LIC Pension Fund Ltd has emerged the number one from among the three entities managing Central Government New Pension Scheme (NPS) trust funds following the allocation of 35 per cent of the funds in 2010-11.”The allocation is done on the performance of the past year and ours was the highest due to which we have received the maximum allocation from the NPS trust,” LIC Pension Fund’s Chief Executive Officer, H Sadhak, said here today.

He added that in the last three-years since the NPS came into effect, his company’s allocation share has risen seven times from a mere 5 per cent in the first year to 35 per cent for FY 11.

SBI Pension Fund with 33 per cent allocation and UTI Retirement Solutions with 32 per cent, come second and third respectively, a release issued by LIC Pension Fund said here.

LIC’s return on its assets under management is understood to be a little over 10 per cent. Sadhak, however, declined to comment on this.

The Central Government introduced the NPS in 2004 and appointed the three funds to manage the Central Government NPS funds.

The PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) has put a cap under which 55 per cent can be invested in Central and State Government securities, 40 per cent in corporate securities and bonds, 15 per cent in equity and equity mutual funds and five per cent in money market instruments.

Sadhak, however, refused to share details regarding the total assets under management and officials from the Central Government NPS trust were not immediately available for comment on the same.

Sadhak, who attributed the performance to scientific investing by the company, said it would benefit from the new allocation as State Government trusts also generally use the same ratios as the Central Government for allocations.

Source : Financial Express