SSS eyes overseas investment to raise revenues

The SSS main office in Quezon City (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

To further raise revenues, the state-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS) is looking at investing overseas, similar to the strategy of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

President and chief executive Emmanuel F. Dooc noted in an interview with reporters last week that while the SSS is allowed to undertake foreign investments, they have yet to do so.

“Based on the experience of the GSIS where they reported good returns, we will also consider that,” Dooc said.

Dooc said the SSS already got in touch with some investment advisers from abroad.

“For diversification purposes, we don’t like to restrict our investments in one basket, in the local economy, in domestic investment,” according to Dooc.

As early as four years ago, the SSS had also been planning to hire local fund managers as part of its plan to increase exposure in domestic capital markets.

However, the plan to tap two to three fund managers to manage P1 billion in investments each did not materialize.

In January, the GSIS announced that it was hiring two foreign fund managers to invest a total of $800 million overseas in order to diversify the pension fund’s portfolio and almost double the rate of investment returns.              /kga