The Cook Islands National Superannuation Fund (CINSF) has adopted a new statement of investment policies and objectives (SIPO), which will now provide fund members with choice in terms of investment.
In outlining the change, CEO Damien Beddoes explained that this had built on a presentation by the CINSF, the trustee and investment managers and feedback from members at the Members General Meeting held in October 2014.
Beddoes stated “Now that the SIPO has been approved by the Board, the CINSF Office is working hard with the service providers to make changes to systems and processes, develop a new members handbook, and prepare information about the different Funds to ensure members can make an informed choice about where they want to invest their money”.
Members will have the ability to invest on three different levels of risk and potential returns, these funds will see a variation in the proportion of funds held in growth assets (equities) and income assets (cash, fixed interest and bonds).
The conservative fund (default) mirrors the existing portfolio that the fund has invested in since 2010. Thirty per cent will be invested in growth assets and 70 per cent invested in income assets. The balanced fund will consist of 60 per cent in growth assets, and 40 per cent in income assets. The growth fund will consist of 80 per cent invested in growth assets, and 20 per cent invested in income assets.
Shortly, members will be able to diversify the current balance of their investment across the range of funds or leave it all in one fund. Members can also determine from their regular employee and employer contributions if they would like to split their contributions between the funds.
Pensioner accounts will remain invested in the conservative fund, however any voluntary contribution accounts they maintain in the CINSF, can be invested within any of the new Funds.
The Board of Directors have set down 1July 2015 as the date that the new investment options will come into effect. A full copy of the Statement of Investment Policies and Objectives is available to be downloaded at www.cinsf.com .
Damien Beddoes
CEO
