EPFO may hike bets on equities

Buoyed by strong stock markets, labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya has said the Employees Prov-ident Fund Organisation (EPFO) may invest up to 12 per cent of its inves-table amount in equities over a period of time.

According to the minister, as on June 30, the EPFO invested Rs 7,468 crore in two index-linked ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) — one to the BSE’s Sensex and the other to NSE’s Nifty — and as of now the market value of the investment stood at Rs 8,024 crore with 7.45 per cent yield.

“There will be a CBT meeting before July 22. We may take a decision on the quantum of investments to be made in ETF. We are in discussions with BSE and NSE also. The investment will certainly increase (over last year).”

“The finance ministry gave us clearance to invest between five and 15 per cent. It is a long term investment. It may up to 10 to 12 per cent also depending up on the market conditions. We expect the markets would be stabilised in the long run. Markets also need mo-ney,” Mr Dattatreya said.

Replying to a query, he said the ministry is “creating 21 zones in place of the existing 10 zones. Extension of EPFO to unorganised and contract workers may result in increase of subscribers from existing 6 crores to about 9 crores.”