The head of the Philippines’ largest pension fund, which manages P1.7 trillion pesos ($30.3 billion) in assets, wants to pour more money into equities, while seizing opportunities to boost returns through investments and acquisitions.
The head of the Philippines’ largest pension fund, which manages P1.7 trillion pesos in assets, wants to pour more money into equities, while seizing opportunities to boost returns through investments and acquisitions.
Veloso, 57, who worked at HSBC for more than two decades, discussed a broad plan to transform the nation’s top pension fund into an institution that will maximize use of government assets and in the process help improve public infrastructure, including transport. He plans to leverage his long banking experience—that includes leading the Philippine National Bank—and put to work idle government land. He said improved returns should boost benefits to government workers including low-paid teachers—half of GSIS’s members—many of whom resort to borrowing from loan sharks to make ends meet.
GSIS invests about a third of assets, more than 500 billion pesos, in fixed income. Some P250 billion are in equities, and another P250 billion are in exchange-traded funds. About P300 billion are lent out to state employees and P200 billion deployed in properties.