SSS taps RCBC for P1-B portfolio

MANILA, Philippines — The Social Security System (SSS) has tapped Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) to manage P1 billion worth of the provident fund’s investment portfolio over a two-year period.

Mario Miranda, trust officer and first senior vice president at RCBC, said the Yuchengco-led bank would invest the portfolio in both fixed-income securities and equities.

“We are grateful for the chance to contribute to the welfare of the Filipino people, specifically the members of SSS, by prudently managing their hard-earned money intended for the members and their beneficiaries’ protection from the hazards of disability, sickness, old age and death,” he said.

RCBC Trust is one of the leading fund managers in the country with over 51 years of investment and retirement fund management experience. It has bagged a number of landmark accounts involving the largest domestic private and government institutions like SSS.

SSS has hired local fund managers to manage P7 billion of its investment reserve fund (IRF) over two years to boost its financial standing.

SSS president and chief executive officer Aurora Ignacio said the pension fund allocated the total equally to three balanced fund mandates, three pure equity fund mandates and one pure fixed income fund mandate.

“The SSS management believes that it can benefit from the investment value-added services of the fund managers such as training, access to proprietary investment analysis and information and access to business analytics,” Ignacio said.

Aside from RCBC, SSS also deployed P1 billion each to BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. (BPI AMTC) and ATRAM Trust Corp. under the balanced fund mandates.

Meanwhile, the fund managers for the pure equity fund mandates were BPI AMTC, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. and Philequity Management Inc., also with P1 billion apiece.

BPI AMTC would also manage P1 billion under the pure fixed income fund mandate.

The P7 billion awarded to fund managers is out of the P9-billion investment portfolio the SSS opened for bidding last year. The total was divided equally among the three investment instruments.

“The remaining P2 billion allotted for two local fund managers will be opened for rebidding this year,” Ignacio added.

The SSS is allowed to appoint local or foreign fund managers to manage its IRF.

Its reserve fund stood at P495.6 billion in end 2018. Bulk or 43 percent of its investible funds is in government securities, while about 19 percent is in equities and another 19 percent is allocated for loans to SSS members.

Likewise, eight percent is in corporate notes and bonds, seven percent in real estate, three percent in bank deposits and one percent in mutual funds.

SSS invested P3 billion of its investment reserve fund last July in three local mutual funds, divided equally between Philequity Management, Inc., Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund Inc. and Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp.