Almatinka experienced a five-story fall after tripping.
In the first half of 2025, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) reported a significant increase in investment income, with a total of 370.99 billion tenge accrued from January to July 2025. However, the yield for EPF's pension assets at the start of the year was negative, a fact that was not previously mentioned.
The National Bank, in a recent disclosure, provided an explanation for this initial negative yield. The reason, according to the Bank, is not directly connected to EPF's management effectiveness or the analysis of investment income over a period of at least one year.
Despite the initial setback, the yield of EPF's pension assets for the first six months of 2025 turned positive, with a yield of 1.51% for July 2025. This follows a negative yield of -0.69% for June 2025.
The accumulated inflation for the first six months of 2025 has not been covered by the yield of EPF's pension assets, indicating that the fund's returns have not kept pace with inflation during this period. The accrued investment income over the last 12 months (as of July 2025) was approximately 2.53 trillion tenge, but the inflation rate for the same period was 11.8%.
EPF's focus on stability and steady income rather than the highest possible yield is evident in its fixed interest rate of 8.25% for the fiscal year 2023–24. While this return is moderate and may not always outperform inflation, especially during periods of high inflation, it provides a relatively low-risk pension asset growth option.
When compared to other investment options, such as equity mutual funds and the National Pension System (NPS), EPF's one-year yield as of mid-2025 offers limited inflation-beating potential. Equity mutual funds typically deliver significantly higher long-term returns and outperform inflation by a wide margin, but with higher risk. The NPS, on the other hand, offers market-linked returns that generally beat inflation over the long term, but with moderate risk.
Despite the initial negative yield in 2025, EPF's total assets grew by 8% year-on-year to RM1.31 trillion as of June 30, 2025. This growth, along with the solid returns in the first half of 2025, reflects strong returns on the overall fund’s investments, benefitting from diversified asset allocation and market recovery.
The National Bank has emphasised that the yield of pension assets over short-term periods is not an indicator of their management effectiveness. It is reasonable to analyse the size of investment income over a period of at least one year according to EPF.
The exact factors contributing to the initial negative yield of EPF's pension assets in 2025 have not been detailed by the National Bank, but the Bank has shared insights regarding these factors.
Business analysts looking at personal-finance matters might question the yield of Employees Provident Fund (EPF)'s pension assets in the initial months of 2025, given the negative yield at the start of the year. However, an investigation into this matter by the National Bank revealed that this initial negative yield was not a reflection of EPF's management effectiveness or the analysis of investment income over a period of at least one year, as the yield turned positive in the following months.
