Moneyweb reports that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has refuted claims circulating on social media that the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) is facing insolvency risks as a result of an alleged £158 billion (R3.3 trillion) legal claim against its portfolio of assets.

According to a PIC statement released on Monday, ‘Nedbank Private Wealth’, a Nedbank subsidiary previously affiliated with insurer Old Mutual, is alleged to have engaged in “bad business practices” in the UK and US, which led to the alleged legal claim. The PIC, on behalf of the GEPF, is an investor in both Old Mutual and Nedbank listed shares. The allegations further level that South African state pensions will cease to exist because of the legal claims, but the PIC said there was “simply no factual or legal basis for these assertions”. The PIC added that Nedbank and Old Mutual have also refuted the allegations. In response to questions, Nedbank said there was no claim or pending legal matter relating to the GEPF or the PIC, in which it was linked. “Any allegation in this regard would therefore be baseless, unsubstantiated and false,” the lender stated. Old Mutual, however declined to comment on the matter. The PIC emphasised that itself and the GEPF were connected to the allegations solely because they were invested in Old Mutual and Nedbank. “The PIC can only assure its clients and their beneficiaries, the public and other stakeholders that the allegations are false and that all its client assets are secure,” the corporation stated.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntando Thukwana at Moneyweb

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