The total assets of the provident funds at the end of 2023 are 114.1 billion euros, 9.9% more than 2022; the weight compared to GDP stands at 5.4%. Over the last ten years, the overall resources of the sector have grown by 48.4 billion, equal to on average 5.7% on an annual basis.
Covip: active tills +9.9% in 2023
They contribute to the change in assets several factors, such as essentially the social security balances for contributions collected and benefits provided and the profitability of investments. In the 2023 the overall flow of contributions net of benefits stood at 3.7 billion eurosa value that has returned in line with those recorded in the years preceding the outbreak of the pandemic. The average profitability of investments was 7.1%, thanks to the favorable performance of the financial markets; over the broader ten-year horizon, the compound average annual profitability is 2.8%.
This is what emerges from the report “Investments: size and composition – year 2023” dedicated to the composition of pension fund investments presented by the acting President of COVIP, Francesca Balzani at the Chapter Room of the Senate. The report – published on the Covip website – provides an overview of the most significant aspects that characterize the resources held by the funds, integrating the aggregate information with more detailed elements referring to the individual portfolios.
“good work done by the cashiers for future members”
“We live in times in which the issue of sustainability is forcefully raised every day, not only for demographic reasons. In this scenario, the funds can claim the good work done for the future of their members”, said Balzani. “The numbers are a fundamental starting point for any reflection – he continued – the other data is the constant trend over ten years of increases in contributions paid and benefits provided. The members, the activities, increase the function and also the social weight of the funds. We must talk about numbers, but also about social weight. We are talking about subjects who carry out a function of collective interest for a growing community of workers”.
Investments in the Italian economy
The domestic investments from the pension funds amount to 44 billion euros, 38.6% dthe activities; the percentage is increasing d3 percentage points compared to 2022.
Within the domestic investmentsreal estate investments remain predominant (17.1 billion, 15% of total assets) and government bonds (13.8 billion, 12.1% of total assets); for the latter, which grew by 3.2 percentage points, net purchases were recorded during 2023 for 3.8 billion euros. The banks were also net buyers of Italian shares and bonds for a total of 680 million euros. The total at the end of 2023 of investments in securities of Italian companies is 8.4 billion euros, equal to 7.4 percent of total assets, of which 7.5 billion consist of shares (1.95 billion representing shares of the capital of the Bank of Italy) and 900 million from bonds; they belong in particular to the financial sector, with over 50% of the total.