Pension Returns Increased by 4.6 Percent

According to the latest calculations by analysts, the MIREX index, which tracks the movement of the value of calculation units of mandatory pension funds, increased by 4.6 percent in the first three and a half months of this year.

In other words, the amounts for pension payments from the second pension pillar have increased by at least that percentage in the past part of the year. From our four mandatory pension funds, we learn that three of them, Erste Plavi fund (which achieved the highest growth rate of 5.5 percent), Raiffeisen, and PBZ/Croatia osiguranje, had above-average growth in the past part of the year, while only one – AZ pension fund, had a slightly lower growth rate than the average of mandatory pension funds.

Market experts say that this year’s continuation of growth, or recovery of pension funds, is largely related to the growth of the domestic capital market (Crobex has increased by about 10 percent in the past part of the year), as well as foreign markets. They also remind us that pension funds have almost doubled their share of domestic and foreign stocks in their portfolios over the last 12 months, so that share now totals around 20 percent. The net assets of mandatory pension funds this year, analysts say, would certainly have had a somewhat greater ‘surge’ if, for example, the amount of net monthly contributions to the funds had not significantly decreased in January of this year.

Although the latest estimates by analysts indicate that it is realistic to expect a continuation of the growth of assets and returns of our pension funds in the coming months, especially after the recent decision by Hanfa to ease the investment criteria for pension funds in the most valuable domestic stocks, no one, however, dares to estimate the possible heights of growth. More cautious analysts merely state that pension funds are likely to be satisfied if the dynamics of growth in net assets and fund returns continues in the coming months.

Otherwise, about 12,000 new members have joined pension funds this year, so by the end of March, the four mandatory pension funds had a total of more than 1.53 million members. According to the latest data from Hanfa, the net assets of these funds reached 31.3 billion kuna by the end of March this year, which is almost two billion kuna more than their value at the beginning of the year. (N. P.)