President's Message.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome
you to this website. Association of Pension Funds of Nigeria
(APFN) is the umbrella body for the occupation pension fund
established in 1986 with a mission to be the foremost reference
point in pension matters in Nigeria. APFN members are corporate
organisations drawn from Pension Fund Administrators and
Custodians, Investment Managers/Advisers, Stockbrokers,
Insurance companies, Investment advisers, Accounting and
Auditing firms, Portfolio managers, Acturial organizations,
Banks, Lawyers etc. APFN also admit individuals as members.
These are individuals trained by the Association in
collaboration with the University of Lagos.
APFN is a member of the National
Association of Pension Fund, UK (NAPF) World Pension Association
(WPA) and an affiliate member of International Federation of
Pension Administrators (FIAP) Santiago Chile.
The reform in the Pension
Industry is one of the major reforms the Federal Government of
Nigeria embarked upon in recent time, after many years of calls
for the regulation of the industry by APFN.
With the Pension Reform Bill
signed into law on 25th June 2004 Nigeria now have a harmonized
Defined Contribution Schemes (Private and Public Sector). The
Pension Reform Act 2004 provides for a regulatory body called
National Pension Commission (PenCom) who will provide regulatory
framework and guidelines for efficient management of Pension
Funds in Nigeria. Since the establishment of PenCom, a total of
twenty one (21) Pension Fund Administrators, Pension Fund
Custodians, and Closed Pension Funds have been licensed, while
more applications are still pending with the Commission. It is
our hope that genuine applications will be processed with
expediency by the Commission in view of the large population in
formal and informal sectors of the economy who will be
participating in the scheme. We also expect that very soon
PenCom will come out with guidelines on Personal Pension Plans
for interested individuals.
APFN has repositioned itself to
meet the challenges created by the reform in term of manpower
gap. We have in place a well structured training programmes to
professionally equip pension funds and investment managers to
enable them perform in line with the acceptable international
best practices. We offer seminars and workshops on topical
issues on Pension fund administration, Investment, Trusteeship
and Insurance as relate to pension. We have also commenced a two
semesters Executive Diploma course in Pension Funds
Administration and Investment Techniques in collaboration with
the University of Lagos. Aware of the diverse geographical
nature of Nigeria, preparations are on advance stages to
commence this program in selected Universities across the
country. Registrations can be done on-line for these courses.
Our quarterly educative magazine
"APFN Newsletter" is also been enhanced with more articles and
News on Pension and Investment around the world to enable
readers keeps abreast with developments in pension and
investment related matters worldwide. Highlights of the
Newsletter are available on this website in the Newsletter page.
We welcome anybody who is willing to contribute well researched
materials on Pension, Investment, Trusteeship, Corporate
governance, Insurance etc in the Newsletters. Members can take
advantage of the wider circulation of these publications to
advertise their products. There are also limited spaces in the
pages of this website for members to advertise.
We thank those organizations who
have at different times contributed towards the development of
APFN since it inception. Particular of note is Union Bank of
Nigeria Plc., who have been providing accommodation for the
Secretariat of the Association in it 131, Broad Street building.
However, for APFN to improve more on it services to members and
the public and implement urgent and important projects in line
with the Association's objectives, more funding is required. We
therefore call on corporate bodies, individuals and
international bodies to sponsor any of our programme or donate
toward APFN cause.
On behalf of members and Council,
I wish to express our profound thanks and appreciation to
PenCom, and all stakeholders for their efforts to develop a
robust Pension industry in Nigeria and bring smiles to the faces
of our Pensioners now and in future through proper regulation,
good corporate governance and better management of pension
funds.
F.
N. Akpe
PRESIDENT |
