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On June 5, the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) together with the World Pensions Council organized the first annual Central & Eastern European Pension Investment Forum, in Bucharest. The event hosted pension and social security institutions, reserve funds, central banks, insurers and asset managers from across Austria, Central Europe, the Baltics, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. More than 120 representatives of institutional investors from the region and journalists were present at this event.
Participants debated on important subjects that will shape the pension industry in this region, as the latest advances in asset allocation and regulatory change, equity and bonds investments as well as risk management.
During the debate, Lucian Anghel, BVB’s Chairman of the Board and BCR Pensii CEO, presented the advantages that Romania has and that have to be promoted to the investors, pension funds and foreign fund managers, advantages among which are sustainable economic growth, low inflation, a rapidly growing capital market, listed companies attractive to investors, and significant yields of dividends distributed to shareholders by listed companies.
For a broader image of the Romanian economic environment in the eyes of foreign fund managers, the developments registered by Romania in recent years and a number of steps that should be taken in the future to have a performing economy were presented by Valentin Lazea, National Bank of Romania Chief economist.
BVB CEO, Ludwik Sobolewski, underlined that one of BVB’s major objectives is to improve conditions for pension funds and investment funds, both Romanian and from abroad.
"The pension fund industry is liberalist in countries that have chosen to develop this sector. One of the achievements of the last period was to reveal that there is a close link between asset quality and regulations. We need a market regulated in an optimal way, good and motivating standards and a pool of assets, "Ludwik Sobolewski added.
With a local pensions industry growing from EUR 1.6bn in 2011 to EUR 4.5bn in 2014, it can definitely be said that the growth in the assets of the Romanian pension funds has contributed to the development of the stock exchange and has influenced its structure.
"A principle that should be respected by countries that are now trying to build a modern capitalism, such as Romania, is to do whatever is necessary to prevent the export of capital. In countries like Romania, a condition to grow is to import not to export capital", said Ludwik Sobolewski.
Moreover, BVB CEO stressed that Romania must continue the privatization of the economy and to attract investors it needs to ease conditions for business.
Central and Eastern Europe has become one of the most dynamic pension investment regions in the Northern Hemisphere, with a wide array of rapidly growing public and private pension plans. The evolution of the pension plans is developing in a context marked by longer life expectancy, ageing population, challenges on the financial markets and the EU-wide and national macroeconomic and regulatory developments.
