Only least-performing pension fund managers in Romania posted profits in H1

Only two of the seven mandatory private pension fund managers (NN and Metropolitan) posted profits in the first half of this year.

In contrast, two others (BCR Pensii and Aegon) faced sharp deterioration in profitability to deep losses.

Notably, the fund managers' performance is inversely correlated with the performance of the funds they manage. Thus, the funds managed by NN and Metropolitan posted the lowest yields (3.1% year-on-year) as of the end of June, while the funds managed by BCR Pensii and Aegon posted the highest annual gains (5.0% and 4.7%, respectively).

However, this might reflect the impact on the new regulations related to the fees a fund manager can charge - which is proportional to the performance of the managed fund. The impact of the performance will naturally be lagged, and the best performing funds at the time when the new regulations were enforced were allowed to charge higher fees - with a positive impact on their profit and a negative impact on the funds' performances.

The seven private pension managers that invest 3.75% of the gross monthly income of 7.6 million employees in Pillar II funds reported combined revenues of RON 217 mln (EUR 45 mln) in the first half of the year, 66% more compared to the same period of the previous year, shows the calculations compiled by Ziarul Financiar.

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