Private pension funds could trigger artificial increases in share prices

Private pension funds, which will be able to invest up to 25% of contributors’ capital on the Romanian stock exchange, could increase the value of shares to unsustainable levels. Management companies have already announced that they will invest between 50 and 60 million euros in order to set up these funds. “Private pension funds will have very large financial resources at their disposal in a very short period of time. This could lead to an artificial rise in securities on the market, a price inflation, which could only be absorbed by high market productivity, so that the market would not collapse. This is a big warning signal as to the effects of private pension funds,” says Aurelian Dochia (a member of the BRD’s Board of Directors). For the time being, there are 4 authorised companies, but by the end of the year, but the number is expected to go up to 11 or 12. “By the end of this year, we will have at least 10 managers of optional pensions (the third pillar) and 9 or 10 managers of compulsory pensions (the second pillar),” stated Mircea Oancea, chairman of the Private Pensions Commission (CSSPP), at the 2007 International Insurance Reinsurance Forum, organised in Sinaia.