Almaty, 21 October. In September Kazakh residents transferred 58.3 billion tenge from the ENPF to private investment portfolio managers, five times more than in August; the number of transfers tripled to 39,800, First Credit Bureau calculated.
Both the volume and the number of transfers were the highest since January 2021, that is, since the option has existed. The calculations are based on ENPF data. In one month pension assets managed by private companies grew by 36%.
Another feature emerged: men hold 64% of accounts with private managers, although they make up about 54% of all ENPF contributors. Why the gap reaches ten percentage points is analysed by Tengenomika in a separate piece. On 1 October private managers held about 205.8 billion tenge of pension savings, against 151.3 billion a month earlier and only about 74.2 billion a year ago.
An investment portfolio manager is a private company that invests the pension savings entrusted to it in shares, bonds and other instruments; only part of the money above the sufficiency threshold can be transferred, and returns may be higher or lower than at the ENPF.
What it means: Kazakh residents are moving part of their pension savings out of the state fund in large numbers and handing them to private managers in the hope of higher returns.
Who benefits: Private managers gain, with a third more money under management in a month; contributors get a chance of higher returns but also take on a risk of losses that an ordinary ENPF account does not carry.
Background: Transfers to private managers are breaking records as their assets grow, by 36% in September.
List of sources used: National Bank, Atameken Business, Tengenomika
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
