Experts to proffer sound investment channels for insurance, pension sectors

Experts as well as stakeholders in the financial service sector will converge to deliberate on how insurance and pension fund operators can build their investment portfolios to maximise profit.

This will top the discourse at the 2020 annual Conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO), billed for ‪Wednesday,4th of November, 2020‬ at Four Points By Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, by ‪10:00am‬.

While the theme for the conference is: “Promoting Bankable Investments Portfolio for Insurance and Pension Sectors,”  investment stakeholders in the capital and money market instruments have equally been invited to grace the occasion

The Chairman, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Mr. Austin Enajemo-Isire, is expected to be the Chairman of the occasion, while the Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Muda Yusuf, will be the Keynote Speaker, even as the Chairman, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi will be the Special Guest of Honour and Chief Launcher of the new NAIPCO website.

The Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Sunday Thomas, and the Acting Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, have confirmed their attendance for the conference. Similarly, the Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr Ganiyu Musa; the CEO, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Mr. Agudah Oguche, among others, will also be present at the occasion to deliberate on ways  operators can invest in the businesses of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria(OPSN) and still maximise profit.

Speaking on the preparation for the event, the President, NAIPCO, Mr. Chuks Udo Okonta, said, as a critical stakeholder, it is the desire of NAIPCO that companies in both the insurance and pension sectors build up investment portfolios that will translate to huge returns on investments for shareholders and contributors of the contributory pension scheme.

He said the organised private sector has consistently lamented of low funding for manufacturers as the investment community have accused OPSN of lack of bankable investment projects in which pension and insurance companies can invest in, despite the two sectors having in excess of N11 trillion funds that could be invested in the economy.

For the insurance sector, he stressed that the theme of the conference is apt based on the argument that the sector is destroying value due to the consistent low returns on investment to shareholders.

For the pension sector, he stated that, the theme is also apt as PFAs have limited investment outlets with the ban on investment in treasury bills by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) as well as, the current low yield on bonds, the mainstay investment instrument of the pension industry

Accordingly, he pointed out that the experts will lay bare all available bankable investment outlets for the operators to reap maximum benefits for their shareholders and customers’ benefits.

Moreover, he said, a new NAIPCO website will be unveiled at the conference, while there will be awards for individuals or organisations that have contributed immensely to the growth and development of either the insurance or pension sectors.