SSIF assets reached JD12 billion at end of Q2 2021 — Saqqaf

AMMAN — Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF) CEO Kholoud Saqqaf said that the fund retained a good performance throughout the second quarter of 2021 as the total assets exceeded JD12 billion compared with JD11.2 billion at the end of 2020. 

These assets were distributed over market instruments that constituted 10.4 per cent of the total portfolio, 58.1 per cent in bonds, 3.4 per cent in loans, 17.9 per cent in equity, 6.1 per cent in real estate and 2.5 per cent in tourism investments, according to a SSIF statement.

Saqqaf said that the fund’s income also grew to JD313 million compared with JD251 million for the same period in 2020, representing an income growth of 24.5 per cent. This was attributed to the increase in returns from bonds, money market instruments and the dividend streams from companies the SSIF invests in.  

The SSIF CEO pointed out that as one of the biggest institutional investors in the national economy, the fund has seized investment opportunities in many vital sectors. Several companies the SSIF invests in announced their dividend distributions, of which the fund’s earnings from its total dividends were approximately JD51 million since beginning of the year. 

Since beginning of the year, the fund increased its selective ownership in some strategically listed companies given the temporary decline in stock prices. 

Saqqaf added that the fund’s public equity portfolio registered around JD525 million unrealised book profits as at the end of the second quarter compared to unrealised losses of JD314 million for the same period of last year.

The SSIF CEO also said that the bonds portfolio, which constitutes 58.1 per cebt of the total portfolio, generated a return of JD196 million at the end of June 2021 compared with JD188 for the same period of the previous year. The portfolio had a 6.1 per cent rate of return, the highest on the fund’s investment compared to the associated lower levels of risk.

Saqqaf announced that a number of projects in the real estate and tourism sectors had been recently launched in Amman and Aqaba and the renovation is still underway in the Crowne Plaza/Petra Hotel and the InterContinental/Aqaba Hotel. 

Saqqaf also announced that Daman Company for Investment and Agricultural Industries will officially start its first agricultural project in October 2021.

She concluded that in light of the Social Security Corporation (SSC)’s actuarial studies that take place every three years, the SSIF shapes the strategic asset allocation that considers the national economy’s parameters and periodically revisits the asset allocation. The actuarial studies predict scenarios for the institution’s future liabilities and the optimal asset allocations to maintain SSC financial sustainability.

As any strategic financial investor, SSIF is keen to achieve the highest risk-adjusted returns on its investments, while adhering to the investment policy. The SSIF, in the statement, emphasised that improvements to the national economy will contribute to improved returns on the fund’s investments.