The total outstanding member balances in the ETF rose by 2.5 per cent and stood at Rs. 281.1 billion at end 2018. Meanwhile, total contributions decreased by 2.2 per cent to Rs. 22.3 billion, while total benefits paid out increased by 8.9 per cent to Rs. 18.8 billion, resulting in a significant decrease of 36.9 per cent in the net inflow of funds during the year, according to the Central Bank Annual Report -2018.
However, total assets of the fund amounted to Rs. 312.1 billion, recording a growth of 11.9 per cent at end 2018 compared to the growth of 12.1 per cent at end 2017. The total investments of the ETF rose by 11.1 per cent to Rs. 291.7 billion at end 2018. The share of investments in government securities reduced to 75.1 per cent at end 2018 from the 78.2 per cent recorded at end 2017.
The ETF has made arrangements to reinvest inflows from divested government securities in term deposits. Investments in equity and corporate fixed income securities accounted for 4 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively, of total investments during the year, and the fund managed to secure a rate of return of 8.4 per cent on its investments.