Introduction

Dear Esteemed Customer,

We at Leadway Pensure PFA wish to felicitate with you on successful journey from beginning of the year to date. We further wish you continued success and God speed in all your endeavors for remainder of the year. Whilst we thank you for your continued patronage, we re-commit ourselves to giving you the best possible service.
In the above spirit, it has become necessary to apprise you of key developments in the industry as confirmed from PenCom:

  • Pension Funds hits N970 Billion Naira
  • Nigerian work force estimated at 45 Million
  • PenCom publishes list of defaulting private sector companies
  • PenCom commenced visitation of companies quoted on the stock exchange with a view to drive  private sector compliance
  • PenCom commenced visitation to State Governments and Heads of Service with a view to facilitate wider compliance
  • PenCom now recognizes informal unions and associations with a view to encourage participation in the informal sector.

Our feature article in this edition of the Leading Digest is “The necessity of writing a will” for your utmost enlightment. The other segments on jokes, FAQ and “did you know” also promise to be readworthy.
It will be our pleasure for you to enjoy it.

Your future……our passion!!

Fund Report - The Sure Fund
Volume 6 - 3rd Quarter 2008
  CONTENTS
t
  :: Introduction
t
  :: Fund Report
t
  :: Article
t
  :: Did You Know?
t
  :: FAQ of the Month
t
  :: Jokes


The objective of the Sure Fund is to achieve sustainable real returns in the medium to long term for the customers. This is achieved by formulating and implementing investment strategies with a view to conserving principal, providing income and achieving growth for both principal and income. The fund had a unit price of N1.2681 as at 30th September 2008. The year to date return is 4.10% with an annualized rate of 5.47%. The allocation of the fund as at 30th September 2008 was as follows; 19.9% in the Capital Market; 35.61% in the Money Market; 0.00% in Closed/Open ended and 44.43% in Bonds all in line with PenCom limits.

 

Investments in the capital market were deliberately reduced due to prevailing current market conditions. We exited investment in Mutual Funds in the month of September, due to unsatisfactory returns to date. Be that as it may, performance in the capital market is measured against the NSE all share index; while the indices for the Bond and Money markets are the 2Yr FGN Yields Plus 1% and the 365day T-bills respectively. All our investments have outperformed their benchmarks.

In terms of outlook, the Sure Fund is expected to consistently outperform the respective asset class benchmarks in the coming quarter of 2008.
  Article:  THE NECESSITY OF WRITING A WILL

“Dying without a will bestows human legacy to the unknown….”   Law Quotes – Unpublished 

The question of writing a will has never been considered as a popular subject in our part of the world. In fact, it had been muted in some quarters that writing a will constitute an invitation to death! Unfortunately, not having a will upon death has even proved to be more catastrophic as seen in bitter disputes on property ownership, fierce filial wrangling needless to say children abandoned at the mercy of living but often unwilling relatives! The uncontestable reality is this – “death is inevitable”. To this end, proper arrangements for handling of entire assets upon death must be put in place and perfected forthwith.

By way of education, the writer of a will is referred to as the “Testator”, while the person appointed to oversee distribution of assets under a will is the “Executor”. Persons unto whom assets are bequeathed under a will are referred to as “Beneficiaries”. A Will in simple terms is a document that is drawn up to ensure amongst other things that your estate and/or belongings are shared as desired and in specified proportion. Whilst you are alive, the will must be lodged and registered at the Probate Registry of a High Court in any State nationwide. This act vest the Will with adequate authority to bind, compel and even protect beneficiaries as far as administration of the estate is concerned. An “administrator” on the other hand is a person appointed upon application of a deceased employee’s family to court to administer and apportion the estate of a deceased person. 

The Guidelines issued by the National Pension Commission on withdrawal of Pension Benefit actually casts an entirely different perspective on the Will issue. In other words, the beneficiaries of a deceased person will not have access to the proceeds of his or her Retirement Savings Account (RSA) unless they produce a Will duly admitted to probate or go to court to obtain a letter of Administration (in the absence of a Will). As is now common knowledge, the complexities involved in procuring the letter of administration (in terms of cost and time delays) does not make it the most desirable alternative to beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, the issue of writing a Will under Islamic Law may seem multifaceted. Whilst some will contend that Muslims may write a will in accordance with the dictates of the Holy Quran, the prevalent view appears to be that Islamic faithful are not supposed to write a Will. In the event of death without a will, our view is that the proceeds of the RSA of a deceased Muslim participant should be subject to such Islamic (or Sharia) Succession Law under which he or she worshipped until his demise. We imagine that upon adequate written representations from the appropriate Islamic Authority to a Pension Fund Administrator, PenCom should give approval for disbursement of the proceeds to a designated administrator under the said Islamic Succession Laws. It is however important where a will is written for it to be registered at an appropriate probate registry.

Our prayer and wish is that you continue to live a long fruitful and fulfilling life. In the spirit of serving our customers, we implore you to take appropriate steps to write a Will. It is one of the most important documents you will ever write and only becomes effective in the event of death. So please make the arrangements today to avoid frustration, disaffection and discord amongst your loved ones in that event.
 
Did You Know...

…that you would receive an SMS notification of your pension remittance status if your employer sends a matching soft copy contribution schedule of the payment made to contributions@leadway-pensure.com immediately such payments are made.
 
FAQ of the Month

What impact will the recent developments in the capital market have on pension contributions in Retirement Savings Account (RSA)?

On a very candid note, it will not be accurate to say that participant contributions in Retirement Savings Accounts will not be affected by the recent downturn in the Capital Market since contribution are approved to be invested therein.

Fortunately for us at Leadway Pensure, the Sure Fund derives advantage from the following key points:

  • Informed compliance with PenCom Guideline not to invest more than 25% of its portfolio in the capital market – actual exposure is less than 20% - (and diversification of outstanding in Money & Bond Markets)
  • Stocks held have the strongest fundamentals possible thus reducing negative market impact on the Sure Fund. To have invested in less fundamental stocks (as some investors did) may have been catastrophic!

As noted above, the Investment approach above has enabled the Sure Fund to largely cut down on negative market loss to the benefit of our participants. We are happy to assure you of continued cutting edge performance to secure your future pension contribution & investments!


Jokes

Meet Mr. Ayuba!!!

  • Ayuba: If I die, will u remarry?
    Wife: No! I'll stay with my sister. But if I die will u remarry?
     Ayuba: No, I'll also stay with your sister.

  • Ayuba: People consider me as a 'GOD'
    Wife: How do you know??
    Ayuba: When I went to the Park today, everybody said, Oh GOD! U have come again.

  • Ayuba comes back to his car & finds a note saying 'Parking Fine'. He Writes a note and sticks it to a pole 'Thanks for compliment.'

  • Ayuba bought a new mobile – “He sent a message to everyone from his Phone Book & said, My Mobile No. has changed - Earlier it was Nokia 3310. Now it is 6610.

  • Ayuba: Doctor, in my dreams, I play football every night.
    Dr.: Take this tablet, you will be ok.
    Ayuba: Can I take it tomorrow, tonight is final game.
 
To send in your comments, feedback or you want to contact us, call 01-2 800 800, send a mail to editorial@leadway-pensure.com or visit our web site- www.pensure-nigeria.com. You can also walk in to our office and be attended to by our friendly customer service representatives at our head office – Afric Place, 7 Afric Road, Off Western Avenue, Iponri, Lagos, or any of our branches across the country.
 

Your Future...Our Passion.


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