GSIS gives fund managers extra time to submit proposals

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) extended by a month the deadline for submission of proposals from prospective external fund managers for the state-run pension fund’s planned $800-million overseas investment.

In a Feb. 15 advisory, Gracita Gilda V. Bocanegra, senior vice president at the GSIS’ fund management group, said that instead of Feb. 16, the new deadline for submission of proposals was moved to March 16.

As such, the evaluation of technical proposals was also moved from March 19 to April 30 instead of the earlier schedule of Feb. 19 to March 30, said Bocanegra, who chairs the GSIS investment bids and awards committee.

The schedules for post-technical evaluation, opening of management fee proposal, notice of award as well as contract award date have yet to be determined and will be announced at a later date, Bocanegra said.

Also, important amendments to the request for proposal will be published on Monday, Feb. 19,” Bocanegra added.

Last week, GSIS president and general manager Jesus Clint O. Aranas told legislators that they were planning to raise to 15 percent the share of foreign investments to total assets from 10 percent at present in order to diversify their revenue sources.

In January, Aranas announced that the GSIS would hire 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.

“The global market is performing very good these days. The returns of our domestic investments in fixed-income assets average 5.5 percent, below our ideal rate of 9 percent a year. We want to beat that, that’s why we have a risk-conservative approach,” Aranas had said.

Bocanegra said that they were hopeful they could award the contracts to the two fund managers this year.

Based on its multiasset strategy released last week, the GSIS said tapping external fund managers would allow the pension fund to “take advantage of diversification and opportunities for higher returns.” —BEN O. DE VERA