FGN Securities boost pension fund assets to N27.5trn

2026-02-25 - 10:17

By Peter Egwuatu Nigeria’s pension industry Net Asset Value, NAV, has increased significantly by 22 % on the back of rising yield on investments in Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) securities, according to data from the National Pension Commission (PenCom). The latest report from PenCom shows that total Assets under Management (AuM) rose to N27.451 trillion from N22.512 trillion in December 2024, while pension funds’ investment in FGN securities grew by 15.7 % Year-on-Year, YoY, to N16.334 trillion in December 2025 from N14.114 trillion in December 2024. The FGN Bonds are also driving the asset concentration in government securities, constituting about 59.5 % of total pension asset. According to PenCom, the considerable proportion of government securities in the overall AuM portfolio can primarily be attributed to PenCom regulatory limits on investments. To further illustrate the renewed interest in government assets, pension holdings in treasury bills increased over 8 % YoY to N761.094 billion from N704.529 billion in December 2024. However, the Sukuk Bonds, which comprises Hold Till Maturity, HTM and Available for Sale, AFS, declined YoY by 9.2 % to N85.017 billion from N93.656 billion in December 2024. Commenting on the report, analysts at InvestData Consulting Limited stated: “The high interest rate environment in 2025 and the government’s increased borrowing need to plug the 2025 budget deficit also drove the YoY growth in investments in fixed-income securities”. Commenting as well, David Adonri, analyst and Executive Vice Chairman at Highcap Securities Limited, stated: “FGN securities are gilt-edged or risk-free investments. They fit perfectly into the safety requirement for investment by PFAs. As the size of pension funds grows, obviously more of their investments will flow to FGNs. This trend is expected to continue as the investment guidelines from PENCOM mandate PFAs to channel the lion share of their funds to FGNs.”