Go back to basics- pensions industry told
Staff writer
The pensions industry must go back to basics and find its green path by looking at what matters to the economy, it has emerged.
This was revealed by Nyaradzo Asset Management GM Onismas Karakadzai at the ongoing Zimbabwe Association of Pension Funds 50th Annual conference in Victoria Falls this morning.
Karakadzai who was navigating Zimbabwe’s Investment Maze said there was a positive correlation between the growth of pension funds and the country’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP).
He demonstrated how over the years pension assets had grown in correlation to economic growth.
This , he said , showed that the two functioned to cover investments withing the country.
“Looking at the distribution of our pension funds over the past 15 years, you see concentration in property and equities. So these are naturally the safe havens. And this is what investors need.Generally, it changes to investing. Except for 2016, where you get the other instruments taking a bigger portion. Mainly in 2016, there was the issue of arrear contributions coming through.
But generally, you see that the safe havens for investments is involved in equities and property.I think this was touched yesterday on the number of pension funds and their contributions. As of December 2024, there were 169,000,”he said.
” Now, in the midst of all this dry land and
all the challenges that we face, there’s still hope.There’s still silver lining. There’s still a green path. So what do I think we may need to look at?Maybe we need to go back to basics.How do we find our green path? Let’s look at what matters for our economy. Our
manufacturing sector. Let’s go back there and try to finance and fund our manufacturing sector.”
Zimbabwe has been going through a series of economic woes coupled with hyperinflation, erosion of value and loss if employment among other issues.
Karakadzai said if there should be an increase in productivity, there will be increase increase employment, contribution from pension
funds and increase investments.
“I don’t understand how we import lithium batteries. Why not set up a factory to manufacture lithium batteries when lithium is being mined in Zimbabwe?These are the things that we need to start to think about,” he echoed
He said pensions as the biggest grouping of investors,needed to start thinking about how issues like renewable energy affect them on a daily basis,deliberately and aggressively invest in it.
” We can talk of private equity, we can talk of risk.It’s actually a new game changer in the markets where you can put a brick of a building. That’s a good investment. This is a new project in Zimbabwe that started in the USA about 60 years ago.Let’s adapt,the risk actually helps in terms of the change, in terms of development. We put our resources together for the good of the country. Tourism One of the other things that we need to consider is take advantage of the Zika and other investor problems that are coming through,” he added
