As of the end of June 2024, Croatian pension funds reported an NAV of EUR 21.6bn, marking a 1.4% increase MoM and a 14.7% increase YoY.
According to the latest data from the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA), the NAV of Croatian pension funds grew by EUR 293.4m MoM and EUR 2.8bn YoY in June 2024, or 1.4% and 14.7% in relative terms. Meanwhile, the net contributions to these funds totaled EUR 126.6m, with 83.3% allocated to Category B funds, 11% to Category A, and 5.7% to Category C. Furthermore, over the past twelve months leading to June, net contributions amounted to EUR 1.38bn.
Of the monthly NAV increase, 43% resulted from net contributions, while the remaining 57% was due to asset value growth. On an annual basis, 50% of the NAV increase stemmed from net contributions, with the other 50% coming from asset value appreciation. Meanwhile, the number of subscribers to pension funds reached 2.28m in June, growing by 3.5% YoY.
A significant portion of this growth is attributed to contributions from foreign workers. Data from the Ministry of the Interior indicates that 112.4k work permits were issued in the first six months of 2024, representing 65% of the total issued in 2023. This suggests an annualized total of approximately 224.8k work permits, a 30% YoY increase. The net yearly increase in the number of subscribers amounted to 81.6k, indicating that many new subscribers are foreign workers.
Net contributions into the Croatian pension funds (January 2019 – June 2024, EURm)
Source: HANFA, InterCapital Research
In terms of asset value changes on a MoM basis, the largest increase was in shareholdings, which grew by EUR 128m, or 2.6%. Bond holdings followed with an EUR 83.7m increase, or 0.6%. Receivables saw the highest relative change, growing by 444% MoM to EUR 59.9m. Investment funds were the only category to record a negative MoM change, decreasing by EUR 10.8m, or 0.5%.
Looking at annual changes, bond holdings recorded the largest absolute change, increasing by EUR 1.48bn, or 12.6% YoY, followed by shares which grew by EUR 946m, or 23%, as well as deposits and cash, which increased by EUR 529m, or 123% YoY. On the other hand, receivables and money market holdings decreased, declining by EUR 134m and EUR 122m in absolute terms, or 65% and 38% in relative terms, respectively.
Croatian mandatory pension funds AUM structure change (January 2018 – June 2024, EURm)
Source: HANFA, InterCapital Research
Moving on, securities and deposits totaled EUR 16.5bn, increasing by 0.7% MoM and 10.9% YoY. Domestic securities and deposits declined by 0.1%, or EUR 12.8m, while foreign securities and deposits grew by 6%, or EUR 120m MoM. On an annual basis, domestic holdings increased by EUR 1.1bn, or 8.8%, while foreign holdings rose by EUR 470m, or 11%.
Finally, the current asset structure of the funds shows bonds as the largest asset category at 61.2% of total assets, decreasing by 0.4 p.p. MoM and 1.1 p.p. YoY. Next up, we have shares, which accounted for 23.4% of the total, with a MoM increase of 0.3 p.p. and 1.6 p.p. YoY, while investment funds represented 10%, decreasing by 0.2 p.p. MoM and 1.4 p.p. YoY.
Current AUM of Croatian mandatory pension funds (June 2024, % of the total)
Source: HANFA, InterCapital Research
