Govt may send teams abroad to study PF investments

The Labour Ministry is planning to send teams of experts to other countries to study the investment pattern of provident funds in stock markets, Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said on Sunday.

The EPFO cumulatively invested Rs 21,559 crore in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) up to March 31, 2017, with 10.6 per cent return on it to Rs 23,845 crore, he said. "There is a proposal to invest 10 to 15 per cent (of the annual investible amount) in the ETFs during the current year.

"The proposal will be taken up in the next meeting of the Board of Trustees. There should not be any objection to the proposal as the returns are good in ETFs in the long run," the Labour Minister said.

The retirement fund body's current investment limit in ETFs is 10 per cent. "What I want to do is to send special teams to Germany, Japan, Australia and South Korea and study the investment patterns in ETFs in their exchanges. In most of the countries, the investments in ETFs are in excess of 30 per cent," Dattatreya said.

"For example in Singapore, most of the Provident Fund amounts are invested in ETFs," the minister said.

A senior official from the Ministry of Labour and Employment said once the Board of Trustees approves the proposal, the EPFO will invest up to 15 per cent in ETFs for the next 2-3 years and analyse the pros and cons. Investible income is the net income of the EPFO from the investments it has already made in various forms, and also fresh contributions.