Moneyweb reports that the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) recently released its annual report for the financial year ended 31 March, 2020, which showed a marked decrease in investment values.  

The GEPF made losses of R214.4 billion for the year, and the market value of investments dropped 11.47% to R1.61 trillion.   Approximately 87% of the fund’s investments are managed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which has been under scrutiny.  The investments were knocked by the downturn in the economy, the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the cost of malfeasance perpetrated by a few officials at the PIC.  The GEPF, through the PIC, now has to try to claw back what has been lost or impaired.  But, consideration has to be given to five red warning flags, namely that the next actuarial valuation will only be completed in December 2021; the investments carry further risk of deterioration; there are looming impairments on direct loans that should not have been made at all; the real test of overall net investment earnings will only be known at the time of the audited annual report as at 31 March 2021; and in terms of the current Investment Management Agreement (IMA), the GEPF’s principal executive officer has no power to stop particular investments.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Barbara Curson at Moneyweb

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