OTP prepares to launch Strateg voluntary pension fund

Insurance company OTP Garancia is preparing to launch a sales campaign for its voluntary private pension fund (pillar III), OTP Strateg, the company’s representatives told ZF.
The fund will be launched as soon as the sales force is given the green light by the Private Pension Commission (CSSPP).
OTP Strateg, which was recently authorised by the CSSPP, will therefore become the seventh voluntary private pension fund on the market, after the authorisation of two funds managed by Allianz-Tiriac Pensii Private, two by ING Asigurari de Viata, one by Aviva and one by BCR Asigurari de Viata. The fund managed by OTP will carry a medium-risk profile and will invest approximately 30 percent of assets in listed shares.
The weight of assets invested in listed shares can vary between 10 percent and 35 percent, depending on market conditions. In the target portfolio, shares listed in Romania and the European Union weigh 25 percent, while shares listed in other states account for 5 percent. At the same time, OTP Strateg will invest 5 percent of its assets in mutual fund units and 5 percent in monetary market instruments (including current accounts and banking deposits). In terms of fixed-income placements, the fund will invest 40 percent of assets in long-term government bonds, 10 percent in short-term government bonds and 10 percent in municipal bonds.
Regarding management fees, OTP Garancia, the fund’s manager, will levy an initial 3 percent fee of paid contributions and then a monthly fee of 0.175 percent of assets (2.1 percent per annum). The fee charged to transfer to another voluntary private pension fund stands at 5 percent for the first two years after a participant joins and then drops to zero after this period is over.
After OTP Strateg (which is just waiting for its sales force to be authorised by the CSSPP) the next fund to appear on the market will be Raiffeisen Acumulare, managed by Raiffeisen Asset Management. The prospectus of this fund was authorised by the CSSPP, with the effective authorisation of the fund now necessary.
The sale of voluntary private pension products witnessed a weaker than expected start this year, with the six funds that operate on the market of voluntary pensions registering almost 8,100 participants at the end of August.
At the beginning of the year, interested companies estimated that the number of individuals attracted by voluntary private pension funds could revolve around 200,000-250,000 for this year. At the end of August, the six voluntary pension funds had accumulated assets worth approximately 280,000 euros.