Economy

Pension Fund Managers Ease Exposure to Equities

Published

9 years ago

21/04/2017

By Quantitative Financial Analytics

In a bid to bolster their performance, strengthen their risk management strategies and in response to the lacklustre performance of the Nigerian stock market, pension fund managers in Nigeria have increasingly been reducing their exposure to the stock market by allocating less and less of their assets to domestic ordinary shares and more and more to FGN bonds and other fixed income securities.

Analysis of available information conducted by Quantitative Financial Analytics indicates that allocation to domestic ordinary shares has been suffering some reductions month after month since 2013.

As at December 2013, 14.58 percent of pension funds’ assets were invested in domestic ordinary shares, by the same period in 2014, investment in domestic ordinary shares had fallen to 11.79 percent.

As if that was not enough, by December 2015, pension fund managers reduced their exposure to the stock market by a further 2 percent, allocating only 9.76 percent to domestic stock market.

The downward spiral continued in December 2016 when just 8.13 percent of pension fund assets were allocated to domestic ordinary shares only for the sorry allocation to still suffer further reduction in January 2017 to stand at 7.79 percent.

As at February 28, 2017, only 7.45 percent of pension fund assets were in domestic ordinary shares showing that over the last five years or so, pension funds have reduced their exposure to the domestic stock market by 7.13 percent and it looks like they are not done yet.

At the other end of the asset allocation spectrum is the tendency for the pension funds to overweight their asset allocation to fixed income securities especially FGN Bonds.

As at December 2013, FGN Bonds and Treasury Bills accounted for 58.75 percent of pension fund assets, but by February 2017, allocation to FGN Bonds and Treasury bills has increased to 72.36 percent, an increase of 13.61 percent.

Although pension funds have been recording positive returns month after month, (in trickles though), their asset allocation as indicated above is not reminiscent of diversified portfolios and may therefore be suboptimal.

Optimal asset allocation is built on the premise that different asset classes offer returns that are not perfectly correlated and diversifying portfolios across such asset classes helps to optimize risk-adjusted returns.

It does appear however that Nigerian pension fund managers’ ability or willingness to diversify is being stymied or fettered by regulatory impediments which specify, among other things, the required maximum allocation to a given asset class.

The importance of asset allocation as a major source of investment returns has been highlighted by researchers and analysts alike.

A widely-cited study of pension plan managers has found out that 91.5 percent of the difference between one portfolio’s performance and another’s are explained by asset allocation.

Specifically, in 1986, Gary P. Brinson, CFA, Randolph Hood, and Gilbert L. Beebower posited that asset allocation is the primary determinant of a portfolio’s return variability, with security selection and market timing playing minor roles.

Subsequent research results have come to support that assertion and it is hoped that in the near future and subject to the availability of asset classes and within limits of regulatory entanglements, Nigerian pension fund managers will diversify their portfolios optimally.

Economy

UAE to Leave OPEC May 1

Published

4 hours ago

28/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The United ‌Arab Emirates has announced its decision to quit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to focus on national interests.

This dealt ⁠a heavy ⁠blow to the oil-exporting group at a time when the US-Israel war on Iran had caused ⁠a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy.

The move, which will take effect on May 1, 2026, reflects “the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, a statement carried by state media said on Tuesday.

“During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added. “However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.”

The loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the oil cartel, which has usually sought to show a united ⁠front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.

UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said the decision was taken after a careful look at the regional power’s energy strategies.

“This is a policy decision. It has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to the level of production,” the minister said.

OPEC’s Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a ‌narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, because of threats and attacks against vessels during the war.

The UAE had been a member of OPEC first through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967 and later when it became its own country in 1971.

The oil cartel, based in Vienna, has seen some of its market power wane as the US has increased its production of crude oil in recent years.

Additionally, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have increasingly competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.

The two countries had joined a coalition to fight against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in 2015. However, that coalition broke down into recriminations in late December when Saudi Arabia bombed what it described as a weapons shipment bound for Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE.

Economy

NASD OTC Exchange Inches Up 0.03% as CSCS Outshines Four Price Decliners

Published

16 hours ago

28/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.

According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.

As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.

The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.

The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.

Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Opens Week Weaker at N1,364/$ at NAFEX After N5.80 Loss

Published

16 hours ago

28/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.

Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.

In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.

Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.

The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.

Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.

The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.

A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.

Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.

The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.

Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.

However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.