Dear Participants of the “OTP Pension” and “FreeFlight” Pension Funds!
We are pleased to present the performance results of OTP Capital’s non-state pension funds for December 2024.GENERAL ECONOMIC SITUATION IN UKRAINE
In the second half of 2024, inflation accelerated as expected. However, in the final months of the year, the growth rate of consumer prices significantly exceeded the NBU’s forecast, prompting the regulator to adopt a tighter monetary policy. On December 11, the Monetary Committee decided to raise the key interest rate from 13% to 13.5%. These measures, along with efforts to stabilize the currency market, aim to curb price pressures and return inflation to forecasted levels in 2025.
In December, the currency market showed increased demand for foreign currency, causing the official exchange rate of the hryvnia to weaken by 1% (from 41.62 UAH/USD to 42.05 UAH/USD), and the cash rate by 2.1% (from 41.91 UAH/USD to 42.48 UAH/USD). A moderate depreciation to 43-44 UAH/USD is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Hryvnia Investments
Demand for hryvnia government bonds (OVDP) remained stable in December, with yields holding at November levels:
- 15.2% for bonds with maturities up to 1.4 years
- 16.2% for bonds with maturities up to 2.4 years
- 16.5% for bonds with maturities up to 2.9 years
“Reserve” OVDPs with longer maturities and specific conditions targeting strategic investors, such as banks, were placed at yields of 14.2%-15% due to high demand from banks.
Fixed deposit rates remained unchanged in December, ranging from 8%-12.5% in hryvnia and up to 2% in USD, depending on the deposit term.
Foreign Currency Investments
- OVDP: Yields on foreign currency OVDPs at primary auctions remained at 4.6%-4.7% in USD and 3.25% in EUR. On the secondary market, yields did not exceed 4.2% in USD and 3% in EUR.
- Eurobonds (OZDP): Investor optimism regarding the end of the war in Ukraine, amid geopolitical changes in December, boosted demand for Eurobonds. As a result, bond prices rose by 5.5%-8% across the board, depending on the maturity, positively affecting the returns of currency funds.
RESULTS OF NON-STATE PENSION FUNDS
OTP PENSION
Portfolio of the Fund
In December, the portfolio of the “OTP Pension” fund saw the sale of OVDPs worth 1 million UAH, with the purchase of OVDPs worth 5.1 million UAH offering better yields. In the deposit part, funds were placed as follows: 56.6 million UAH in JSC “Ukreximbank,” 24.9 million UAH in JSC “Creditwest Bank,” 21.8 million UAH in JSC “PUMB,” 22.2 million UAH in JSC “State Savings Bank of Ukraine,” 0.7 million UAH in JSC “Sense Bank,” and 3 million UAH in JSC “Agrprosperis.”
Financial Results
- The fund’s assets grew by ↑11.5 million UAH (1.8%)
- Total NAV at the end of the month is 635.4 million UAH
- Contributions amounted to 8.4 million UAH, and pension payouts totaled 1.2 million UAH
Yield
In December, “OTP Pension” earned for its participants:
- 7% yield for the last month
- 9% annualized yield for the last 365 days
FREEFLIGHT
Portfolio of the Fund
In December, the “FreeFlight” fund portfolio was actively rebalanced, using arbitrage on the secondary market with short-term OVDPs denominated in USD. Deposits were placed as follows: 2.3 million UAH in JSC “Ukrgazbank” and 45,000 USD in JSC “Ukrgazbank.”
Financial Results
- The fund’s assets grew by more than ↑3.1 million UAH (4.9%)
- Total NAV at the end of the month is 62.1 million UAH
- Contributions amounted to over 1.6 million UAH, and pension payouts totaled 91.7 thousand UAH
Yield
The increase in the value of OZDPs and the active rebalancing of the portfolio helped the fund earn:
- 5% yield in USD for the last month
- 4% annualized yield in USD for the last 365 days
