BCR Prudent voluntary pension fund, managed by BCR Asigurari de Viata, has become the largest fund on the market in terms of the number of participants, after it took the top position in terms of assets in December.
In the last week of February, BCR Prudent won almost 4,700 new customers and assets worth 0.9m RON. As a result, it became the biggest voluntary pension fund in terms of contributors (with 16,344 customers), ahead of the two funds managed by Allianz-Tiriac Pensii Private.
At present, BCR accounts for 24% of voluntary pension fund contributors (pillar III) and almost 41% of the overall assets in the system, namely 2.33m euros from 5.74m euros.
"There were several corporate contracts, but also retail sales that took the fund to over 16,000 participants," Florina Vizinteanu, a CEO with BCR Asigurari de Viata, told ZF.
She believes corporate sales will be responsible for the majority of the growth rate voluntary fund market will register this year. At the same time, retail sales will see slow, but steady growth, says Vizinteanu.
"The voluntary pensions market will not witness a boom this year," she states. "Corporate contracts are not easily sealed, everything we've signed now is in fact the outcome of the efforts we made late last year. Similarly, the talks we're now in with some employers will result in contracts as late as towards the end of this year," said Vizinteanu.
BCR Prudent started witnessing significant growth late last year, when BCR group decided to contribute, on behalf of its employees, to the voluntary pension fund managed by the group's life insurer.
In 2008, companies operating on this market expect the number of customers to rise by several hundred thousands, while the number of fund managers may reach 10-11, from 5 at present, and the number of funds may rise to 14, from 7 at present.
In late February, the total number of contributors on this market stood at 70,000 and assets reached 5.74m euros, according to CSSPP data. The total number of contributors on the market in the first two months of this year advanced by around 14,000, at a rate of 25% compared with the end of 2007.
Brokers licensed to sell these products will also contribute to voluntary pension market growth.
Wanda Nahlik, general manager of OVB insurance broker, estimates the number of new customers that sign a voluntary pension contract this year will revolve around 300,000. Marsh, one of the biggest insurance brokers on the market, has made similar estimates - 200,000 new customers. In addition, estimates for Broker intermediation stand at around 7-8%.
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