I returns of Italian pension funds have started the second half of 2021 with a positive trend. According to an analysis published by the Bff Banking Group, in July occupational pension funds (FPN) recorded a 0,75% increase in returns (based on theindex BFF-MI General). Open pension funds, on the other hand, appreciated by 0,83% (in this case the reference is the Bff Generale index). Furthermore, as regards the yield curve since the beginning of 2021, both negotiated and open-ended pension funds have recorded an increase of around 3,1%.
EQUITY AND TRADING PENSION FUNDS
In detail, continues Bff Banking Group, the driving forces in July were the share-type occupational pension funds (+1,01%), which exceeded, albeit slightly, the balanced ones (+0,94% both for negotiating and open-ended loans, thanks to a positive trend on both the equity and bond sides).
The performance of open-ended equity-type pension funds (+0,82%) was less brilliant, held back by the correction in the stock markets of emerging countries, in turn triggered by delays in vaccination campaigns and the Chinese government's tightening on hi-tech . However, these negative data were more than offset by the continued appreciation of the main Western stock exchanges, starting with Wall Street, which continued – and still continues – to break records.
BOND PENSION FUNDS
July was also a positive month for pension funds which concentrate their investments on the bond market, and this despite the increasingly accommodative tone adopted by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.
Following the recent announcements by central bankers Jerome Powell (Fed) and Christine Lagarde (ECB), traders now expect that – despite strengthening data on GDP growth and inflation in both the US and the Eurozone – policies monetary markets will continue to remain expansive for some time to come (a perspective confirmed by the Eurotower Governing Council staged yesterday).
This scenario caused long-term interest rates to fall in the United States and in the European currency area, but in July open-end bond-type pension funds still recorded a positive performance, with yields up 0,89%.
