Data released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has revealed that Nigeria’s pension fund assets rose to N29.52 trillion in March 2026.
This shows a month-on-month growth of 0.31% from N29.43 trillion in February 2026.
The pension industry recorded a modest increase in total assets, supported largely by strong performance in fixed income and domestic equities. Growth in FGN securities and selective asset classes offset declines in money market instruments during the period.
Fixed income securities remained the backbone of pension portfolios, as FGN securities continue to anchor portfolios.
Total investment in Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) securities rose to N17.14 trillion, up 1.28% MoM, representing a dominant 58.07% of total pension assets.
FGN Bonds (Holding to Maturity) increased modestly by 0.60% to N13.25 trillion, accounting for 44.88% of the total pension asset
Treasury Bills rose by 7.42% to N1.06 trillion, reflecting improved yields in the short-term debt market.
Agency Bonds (Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company & Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria) recorded a notable 80.90% surge, climbing to N20.12 billion, albeit from a low base.
Sukuk Bonds declined by 3.72% to N90.97 billion, suggesting mild portfolio adjustments.
Green Bonds dipped slightly by 0.52% to N16.90 billion, signaling limited fresh allocation in ESG instruments
State Government Securities grew modestly by 1.17% to N373.31 billion.
Pension fund administrators continued to show confidence in local equities, leaning more toward domestic opportunities, influenced by currency considerations and attractive local equity returns.
Domestic ordinary shares rose marginally to N5.46 trillion, up 0.96%, accounting for 18.50% of total assets, while it rose 27.30% from the beginning of the year to date.
In contrast, foreign equities declined by 5.89% to N246.56 billion, reducing their share to just 0.84%.
Corporate fixed income instruments recorded overall marginal changes as total corporate debt securities slipped slightly by 0.02% to N2.25 trillion.
Corporate bonds (HTM) rose by 0.88%, reflecting stable long-term positioning
Corporate bonds (AFS) declined by 2.02%, indicating some mark-to-market or reallocation effects.
Notably, Corporate green bonds surged 49.72%, though still negligible at 0.01% of assets.
Liquidity management tightens as investments in money market instruments declined by 6.99% to N2.55 trillion (8.65% of total assets), driven by declines in fixed deposits and commercial papers. Within this:
Meanwhile, fixed deposits fell by 6.16% to N2.34 trillion, commercial papers dropped sharply by 21.54% to N164.17 billion and foreign money market instruments increased by 18.59% to N45.71 billion.
