There is no doubt that national treasury is protesting too much about its retirement fund proposals, writes Stephen Cranston THE lady doth protest too much, as Queen Gertrude said in Hamlet. And there is no doubt that national treasury is protesting too much about its retirement fund proposals. In slides produced by treasury, official Olano Makhubela had written in block capitals that the policy is not nationalisation and not prescribed assets. It is true that there are no prescribed assets on the agenda — at least not like in the 1980s, when 53% of inflows in pension funds had to go into government bonds. But as long as government bond auctions are more than fully subscribed there is no need for prescription.Perhaps the turning point will come when fund managers refuse to support an issue from a broken-down parastatal, Eskom being the most likely example. In any case there are more subtle ways to bring in “responsible” investment. The Government Employees Pension Fund uses the bull...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.