EPFO gets approval to park 5% of annual deposits in InvITs and other alternative funds

EPFO gets approval to park 5% of annual deposits in InvITs and other alternative funds

• The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) have approved that up to 5 percent of the annual deposits can be invested in alternative investment funds (AIFs) including infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs).
• This investment will offer diversification to the EPFO’s investment basket.
• The Finance Investment and Audit Committee (FIAC) have been tasked to decide upon the investment options, on case-to-case basis.
• However, the board has also decided to focus only on government-backed alternatives, which are category one funds like public sector InvITs and bonds.
• The AIFs are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Points to Remember:

1. What percent of annual deposit can be parked by EPFO in alternative investment funds (AIFs) like InvITs?
2. Who regulates alternative investment funds (AIFs)?

Source: Business Standard