The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Pension fund Social Security System (SSS) said it has embarked on a program to invest the fund under the concept of “people’s capitalism” that seeks to generate huge returns through the infusion of capital for up to 25 percent in the list of infrastructure the government has lined up.
“With proposed innovations in investments, the Social Security System (SSS) is shaping a new developmental ideology to give the working class an opportunity to be the richest in the country through their pooled savings in the pension fund,” Social Security Commission (SSC) Chairman Dean Amado Valdez said.
Speaking before the Rotary Club of Manila, Valdez said: “SSS’ approaches to its investments are shaping up a new developmental ideology that goes into the middle of those who are in the extreme right and left, suiting perfectly the people’s aspiration in pursuit of economic development.”
Valdez said the new brand of capitalism may be the start of a peaceful economic revolution that will usher in the marginalized society to the economic mainstream.
“SSS is among the top companies with highest profit, therefore, our members and pensioners are the richest, collectively. The way we invest right now is that we make the rich, richer and the poor, poorer because individually we do not have the capacity to invest. Can we not give the working man a chance now through its pension fund?,” Valdez said.
SSS plans to diversify assets by directly investing up to 25 percent ownership in a wide range of industries, including infrastructure projects like toll roads, real estate and even lottery operations, which are being studied rigorously by the SSC.
“For example, these innovative approaches of SSS in earning more for the pension fund may even result in the eradication of jueteng operations which is controlled by the rich. SSS plans to conduct lottery operations on its own and share the income from it to our pensioners,” Valdez said.
“The return on SSS investments has an average of seven percent for 2016, and we hope to bring it up by 15 to 20 percent next year following the enhancements in investment practices and the new investing projects and activities we plan to carry out in the next several months,” he added.
SSS is pushing for amendments to its charter, specifically on the conservative provisions on the investing capacities of the Commission.
The SSS charter provides for certain limitations on the powers of the Commission to invest its reserve fund. At present, SSS could only invest in private securities, housing, real estate, short and medium-term member loans, government financial institutions and corporations, infrastructure projects, foreign currency denominated investments and any particular industry that the Commission deems profitable.