Mandatory pension funds collect 200m euros

The 18 mandatory private pension funds will cumulate assets worth around 200 million euros by the end of this year, according to estimates made by the three largest companies on the market. The calculation takes into account just over 3 million participants for whom pension contributions will be paid, while around 1.5 millions participants, who will become a part of the system after the private pension lottery, have empty accounts. ING, the market leader, remains the most pessimistic after it estimated that the value of assets would stand at 579 million RON (160 million euros, at an exchange rate of 3.6 RON/EUR), according to Radu Vasilescu, CEO of ING Fond de Pensii (ING Pension Fund). His estimate considers 3.65 million clients and eight months of collection in the calendar year 2008 (May-December). According to his calculations, ING’s mandatory pension fund will manage assets worth 60 million euros at the end of this year. Allianz-Tiriac, the second largest fund, estimates assets worth around 200 million euros for the market as a whole, with 50 million euros accounted for by its mandatory pension fund.