Private pension funds, the most active local institutional investor on Romania’s stock market, hold some EUR 820 million worth of local shares. What Romanian stocks do the like to buy?

Private pension funds, which manage the pensions of 6.5 million Romanian employees, have so far invested in the shares of 35 companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Their financial interest stays in the range of financial services, energy and pharma sectors.

The top 10 companies in whose shares these funds have invested so far are Fondul Proprietatea, Romgaz, Banca Transilvania, OMV Petrom, Electrica, Transgaz, Transelectrica, BRD, SIF 5 and SIF 2, according to the Association of Privately Managed Pensions Funds in Romania (APAPR).

End-2014, pension funds owned EUR 143 million worth of shares in local investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, the biggest value of a share package in these funds’ portfolio. Second came state-owned Romgaz. Private pension funds owned some EUR 111 million worth of Romgaz shares. Third was local lender Banca Transilvania, with a EUR 97 million share package in the ownership of private pension funds.

The local stocks held by private pension funds were worth some EUR 750 million end-2015, but their value rose to EUR 820 million after the first quarter of 2015. This is four times higher than the value of stocks these funds had in 2012.

Private pension funds currently invest some 20% of their EUR 5 billion assets in listed shares. The majority of these shares – 85% - are local companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, while the rest are shares from various EU stock markets, according to APAPR.

editor@romania-insider.com