Small non-state pension funds (NPF) are increasingly looking for buyers. High unit costs reduce the attractiveness of their business. Consolidation centres can become the largest banking and financial groups interested in attracting new clients for mandatory pension insurance. However, they are not willing to pay the asking current owners of NPF price amid declining yields on investments and the growth of payments from the Fund.The average size of the Orenburg NPF Doverie (assets at mid-year amounted to 8 billion rubles) is looking for a buyer, sources told the Kommersant. Among the candidates they call “VTB Pension Fund” (in the past year acquired NPF “Magnet”) and “Gazfond Pension savings” (“Gazfond MON”; bought NPF “Almaznaya osen”). According to “Kommersant”, for sale and commensurate with “Trust” funds “Gefest” (RUB 4.3 billion), “building complex” (4.7 billion rubles), “UGMK-Perspektiva” (15 billion rubles). As noted by two of the interlocutor, “b”, is considered out of the asset and the owners of the military-industrial Foundation. V. V. Livanov (RUB 8.3 billion). “We’re not going to sell NPF, but in future years, given the uncertainty in the market, you can come back to this issue,”— said the President of the Foundation Olga Lapina.In VTB have confirmed that studied the opportunity to buy the firm “Trust”, but the offer is not satisfied for the price. One of the sources of Kommersant says that for a similar reason the negotiations stopped and “Gazfond PN”. According to him, “the offer was 10-11% of assets”. Given the high operating costs of the Fund, it makes no sense to buy expensive, said the source “b”. The General Director of “VTB Pension Fund” Larisa Gorchakovskaya in an interview with “Kommersant” told about the possibility of buying funds in the evaluation of “about 8% of assets” in the absence of “restrictive Covenant” (see “Kommersant” on 31 July). The price of the last transactions for purchase of NPF accounted for about 10% of assets (see “Kommersant” of 9 January and 27 February).Centers of consolidation in addition to the “MON Gazfond” and “VTB Pension Fund” can be a NPF of Sberbank (previously purchased NPF “VNIIEF-Garant”), group of companies “Region” (last purchase — NPF “Federation”), NPF “Opening”. On the establishment of its retirement business thinking and practices (see “Kommersant” on February 25). “Now no one is willing to make investment decisions. In the next three months of transactions in the pension market can be expected,” says one of the interlocutors “Kommersant”. In the pension Fund “Gazfond PN”, “Trust”, “Gefest” and “construction sector” has not responded to the request to “Kommersant”.But in the future M&A deals in the segment will continue. Regulatory requirements for “funds-average performance” are the same as for large funds, and this involves considerable costs, says CEO of consulting company “Pension partn��R” Sergey Kolesnov. “The optimal ratio of cost of NPF’s assets is less than 1%, which is typical of funds in the top ten. For small NPF it comes to 5%,”— said the head of the Committee on development of small and regional funds of the Association NPF Alexei Morozov. According to “Kommersant”, the funds, offered for sale, this ratio is between 1.7–3.7%. According to Mr. Okolesnova, in such circumstances, small funds “it is very difficult to survive”: either you need to grow, and this requires significant investment by the shareholder, or sold.”The major players in the current conditions of transition of the frozen campaigns, of course, there is interest in acquiring mediocre pension funds”,— said the managing Director of “Expert RA” Pavel Mitrofanov.However, according to him, in an environment of falling yields, and increasing the natural outflows from pension funds as a result of payments basis for remuneration is reduced, which puts pressure on price the funds. Now there is a buyers ‘ market, says expert, small funds have to sell, and the big players as a result of these factors do not want to pay much and will insist on lower prices.Polina Trifonova, Ilya Usov
