The Social Security Commission (SSC) has transferred N$693 million (US$39.9 million) in offshore investments from Retirement Investments and Savings for Everyone (RISE) (Pty) Ltd to Symmetry (Pty) Ltd after RISE breached the Commission’s Investment Policy, Standards and Procedures by investing in unlisted private credit instruments ,an asset class not permitted under the policy.
SSC Executive Officer Milka Mungunda said the breach was detected during monitoring of the portfolio, prompting immediate corrective action.
“When SSC detected that RISE had invested in the prohibited unlisted private credit instruments, the Commission acted to rectify the breach and terminated RISE’s mandate with 30 days’ notice once the breach was corrected,” Mungunda said.
She confirmed that no funds were lost during the process.
“At termination, the total assets transferred from RISE (Pty) Ltd to Symmetry (Pty) Ltd totalled US$39,919,461.53. This translates to an investment growth of US$5,634,054.13 over the period. The Commission would like to make it clear once again that no monies or assets were lost or unaccounted for,” said Mungunda.
According to Mungunda, SSC subsequently conducted due diligence on two reputable offshore multi-manager providers with a local presence ,Sanlam Multi-Managers (Glacier International) and Symmetry (Pty) Ltd (formerly Old Mutual Multi-Managers).
Following this process, Symmetry was appointed as the new offshore specialist manager.
She said the selection process was carried out in line with SSC’s Investment Policy, Standards and Procedures and supported by an exemption letter from the Minister of Finance dated 9 December 2020 under the Public Procurement Act, 2015.
“The letter stated that ‘in the absence of the modalities on the appointment of asset managers in terms of the Public Procurement Act, 2015, you are hereby authorised to proceed as per the provisions of the Investment Policy Standards and Procedures,’” Mungunda said.
Mungunda explained that offshore investing was introduced in 2017 to diversify SSC’s portfolio, which had previously been confined to the Common Monetary Area (CMA).
As part of the diversification strategy, three asset managers were appointed for the CMA, and RISE was appointed in June 2023 as the offshore specialist manager under a full discretionary multi-manager mandate. SSC initially invested US$34.3 million with RISE, with no additional contributions or withdrawals made during the mandate period.
“The offshore diversification initiative has strengthened SSC’s long-term financial position while maintaining strict compliance with our investment policies and governance standards,” Mungunda said.
By 31 August 2025, the SSC’s total investment portfolio had grown to N$6.09 billion, up from N$2.97 billion in 2016, with offshore investments accounting for up to 30% of total assets as permitted by policy.
