Head of RO pension funds association says too much disclosure has downsides

The pension funds managers will comply with the requirements of disclosing their portfolios every quarter, but this might have an anti-competitive effect, says Radu Craciun, CEO of BCR Pensii and head of the private pension fund managers' association APAPR.

The financial market regulator ASF took such a step after public criticism about NN Pensii, the biggest pension fund manager in Romania, investing in bankrupt German company Wirecard.

"I have mixed feelings from the quarterly reporting. I can understand the need for transparency, which also exists in biannual repo. Still, from an investment point of view, there is a risk that all private pension managers align their investment strategies," says Craciun, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

He praised the performance of the mandatory private pensions, pointing to the 6.2% average "annual performance" - most likely the average rise of the net unit value of the seven mandatory private funds that, he stressed, was three times higher than the inflation.

However, the voluntary private pension funds keep trailing behind the mandatory funds, with only one fund (Stabil, managed by Generali) boasting a yield above the 6.2% average of the mandatory pension funds.

Speaking about BCR's pension funds, the net unit fund value increased by 7% year-on-year as of December for the mandatory fund (Pillar II) and only 5.4% for the voluntary (Pillar III) pension fund.

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