EPFO got 12 per cent on equities: Secretary

New Delhi: Labour secretary Shankar Aggarwal said on Wednesday that EPFO got a return of over 12 percent on investments in equities as compared to 8 or 7.5 percent on government securities (G-Secs) within a year Centre sought to allay fears over investments by EPFO into ETFs, saying that their performance should be viewed over a long period of time.

“If you are going to invest wisely in a pool of equity then surely there is not much of a risk. We cannot evaluate the performance of equity on the basis of one, two or three months. When we invest in equity, we invest for 20 or 30 years,” said Mr Aggarwal at a conference organised by Assocham.

“As on July 31, 2016, we got a return of over 12 per cent (on equity) as compared to 8 or 7.5 per cent on G-Secs,” he said. The  EPFO started investing in exchange traded funds in August last year and has invested Rs 7,465 crore till June 30, 2016.

Though the EPFO can invest up to 15 per cent of its investible deposits in equity or equity related scheme, the body had decided to park five per cent of its available funds in ETFs to start with. On the potential risks of such investments, Aggarwal said: “This apprehension that when we invest in equity is a very risky business is far from way. ”