STATE-RUN pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) reported netting P37 billion in the first three months of 2024, 21 percent higher than the P30.75 billion recorded in the same period last year.The agency attributed the growth to revenues amounting to P85 billion, which were 17 percent higher year-on-year.'Our commitment to support the nation's growth story saw increases in GSIS investments in key sectors such as real estate, infrastructure, food, energy and mining,' said Wick Veloso, president and general manager of the pension fund.Total assets grew by 10 percent to P1.74 trillion as of end-March from last year's P156 billion.The GSIS said that it had improved its lending programs and that as of March, P124 billion — or P1 billion per working day since September — had been availed of by 506,000 government workers.Net gains on sale and mark-to-market valuation of local equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meanwhile, resulted in revenues of P10 billion, about 234 percent higher year-on-year.The GSIS said that in the first quarter, it earned P9 billion in interest from fixed income investments that include various bonds and Treasury bills.Operating expenses, meanwhile, were 41 percent lower than budget, and the administrative cost ratio was 2.98 percent, well below the allowed limit of 12 percent set by the GSIS charter.
