BPOPF invests 60% of assets offshore

Boitshepo Majube | Friday October 18, 2013 17:07

The Acting CEO of BPOPF Lesedi Moakofhi has said that in terms of head count, BPOPF is the largest fund in Botswana with a membership base of 150,370 as at 31 March 2013, comprising 143,273 active and deferred pensioners and 7,097 pensioners.

'We take pride in the resilience and robustness of our investment strategy, which is premised on diversification both geographically and by asset class. This propelled the fund to great heights leading to double digit returns during the early years of the fund, with the exception of 2003 when the world economy witnessed the burst of the dot.com bubble and later in 2009 when the credit crunch resulted in the global financial crises,' Moakofi said. 

She noted that the core mandate of the BPOPF is to create wealth for its members in a manner that will afford them a dignified post-career life. Moakofi stated that the trustees devised an investment strategy meant to ensure that members' funds are invested in the right investment vehicle.She said owing to the complex nature of management of a pension fund, trustees are at liberty to obtain expertise both internally and externally whenever the need arises.

'In this regard the fund has outsourced its major functions of investment and administration, and has procured other related services such as actuarial, asset consulting, custodian as well as an external auditor to provide an independent opinion on the financial status and affairs of the fund thereby promoting accountability,' she said. 

Board Chairman of BPOPF Carter Morupisi said the fund continuously explores innovative ways to achieve its vision of being a world class provider of retirement benefits in the pension industry.