Austrian occupational pension management firm Valida has recorded results outperforming the market for its Pensionskasse and Vorsorgekasse in 2021.
The Valida Pensionskasse returned 9.4% last year, above the average performance of 7.54% for domestic pension funds. The Valida Vorsorgekasse recorded returns of 5.1%, also above the market average of 4.04%, it announced.
In the Pensionkasse business Valida is active with Valida Pension AG, which recorded a -0.25% performance in 2020 against an average performance for Austrian pension funds of 2.49%.
Valida is active in the Vorsorgekasse market with Valida Plus AG, which recorded a -0.32% and 0.06% for its two business lines VG1 and VG2, respectively.
Assets under management increased year-on-year by 15.5% last year to €11.9bn, from €10.3bn in 2020, thanks to its overall positive performance and an increasing number of new members joining the scheme.
Martin Sardelic, chief executive officer of Valida Holding, said: “We see this increase in value [of the assets] as a confirmation that we are on the right track with regards to investment.”
The Vorsorgekasse invests its pension assets in line with strict exclusion criteria including in particular armaments, nuclear energy or serious violation of democratic principles. The Pensionskasse assesses its funds with regards to the integration of ESG criteria.
BaFin tells pension industry to notify insolvencies
The German financial supervisory authority, BaFin, expects to be immediately notified by Pensionskassen and Pensionsfonds in the case of an employer’s insolvency that undertakes pension promises.
The regulator also noted that the Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein VVaG (PSVaG), the mutual insurance association for occupational pension schemes, also has to be notified in such cases.
Pensionskassen and Pensionsfonds should disclose in a statement the consequences of their business insolvency and should communicate whether an employer has an additional “funding function” for the pension schemes besides the obligation to pay contributions, according to a document released by BaFin.
They must also notify the supervisory authority on whether an employer is involved in administrative activities of a pension fund and if the insolvency of an employer has an impact, with specific consequences, on the capital investment of that pension fund.
Pensionskassen and Pensionsfonds should state whether they have financial claims against an employer, for example loans to the employer, and the amount of the claims involved, according to the document.
Read the digital edition of IPE’s latest magazine
No comments yet