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Nigeria's National Pension Commission (PenCom) and South Africa’s Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (EPPF) and Telkom Retirement Fund are among major pension funds and regulators in Africa that are set to meet in Mauritius at the upcoming Pension Funds and Alternative Assets Africa Conference (PIAfrica). The conference, which is the third edition of PIAfrica, will take place on March 20–21, at the Hilton Resort & Spa in Mauritius.
    
Senior executives from pension funds, regulators, asset managers, financial advisors and other stakeholders will discuss investment strategies to diversify the sector and move it forward, according to a statement by London-based AME Trade, organiser of the conference.

Bound by strict regulations on how to invest their assets, pension funds in Africa have traditionally focused on investing in local fixed-income bonds and government securities. However, African governments have recently been easing regulations on pension funds by expanding the asset classes they can invest in and even promoting offshore investing.

Notwithstanding, experts say regulations have stymied growth in the pension sector as returns on investment are limited. Meanwhile, according to a report released last year by institutional investors, the 10 largest funds in Africa alone account for a combined $310 billion in assets. In Nigeria, for example, where total pension fund assets reached N8.14 trillion (over N22.6 billion) as of May 2018, as much as N5.2 trillion – representing 70.08 percent – was invested in government securities.

AME Trade said pension funds can no longer afford to sit on large amounts of money that should be deployed into long-term projects such as infrastructure, energy, real estate, and much more.

“Pooling together the various high profiled intellectual resources in the space of social security across the continent to discuss investment topical issues has inspired a shift in thinking on the approach to this subject,” said Simon Wafubwa, CEO, Enwealth Financial Services Limited.

The pension fund executives and regulators at the PIAfrica 2019 will share their views on the current investment climate and also explore alternative investment strategies. Key sessions will focus on strategies, offshore structures, African regulations, risk management, analysis and performance metrics.

PIAfrica 2019 is themed, “The Search for Returns in a Global Low Return Environment.” Sponsors for the conference include Grit, AFC, AXYS Investment Partners, DBSA, Stenham Asset Management, TDB, Franklin Templeton Investments, Perigeum Capital, Moravia Capital Investments, APEX, Riscura and Enko Capital. Supporting institutions include: AVCA, Economic Development Board Mauritius, SAVCA, Insurers’ Association of Mauritius, Global Finance Mauritius, AIMA, AMIC, EAVCA and NEPAD.