For the first half of 2026, most private companies managing pension assets managed to achieve returns above inflation. Meanwhile, the National Bank of Kazakhstan again failed to preserve the purchasing power of pensions: the real value of assets under its management fell by 0.89%, reports the website infohub.kz.
According to the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (ENPF), as of July 1, 2026, pension assets under trust management of the National Bank amounted to 26.8 trillion tenge. The return distributed to contributor accounts since the start of the year was 4.21%. Over six months, 1.1 trillion tenge was credited to accounts. Cumulative inflation over the same period reached 5.1%, so in real terms, pension assets lost 0.89% of their value: nominally they grew, but purchasing power declined.
ENPF explained that this return resulted from volatility in foreign exchange rates and changes in the market value of financial instruments. In June 2026, financial markets experienced heightened volatility amid the US-Israel-Iran conflict and falling energy prices. The fund stressed that short-term returns are not an indicator of management efficiency, as over a few weeks or months income may not compensate for fluctuations in securities prices and exchange rates.
Almost all private pension asset managers managed to exceed inflation and achieve positive real returns. The leader, as in previous years, was Centras Securities, with a relatively small portfolio of 14 billion tenge. Its return for the half-year was 9.94%, yielding a real return of 4.84% (adjusted for inflation). It credited 732.6 million tenge to contributor accounts. Economist Ruslan Sultanov noted in his Telegram channel that Centras Securities’ leadership is largely due to its portfolio structure: about 70.5% of assets are in tenge, with a significant portion placed in bonds of banks and quasi-government companies. This allows it to tap into the high yields of the domestic market while maintaining currency diversification.
In second place is Alatau City Invest, managing 19.3 billion tenge in pension assets. Its return since the start of the year was 6.23%, 1.13 percentage points above inflation. Accrued investment income reached 1 billion tenge. According to Sultanov, the share of foreign currency in the company’s portfolio reached 55.3%, with nearly a third of assets in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Returns of other managers for the first half of 2026: BCC Invest – 5.98% (credited 812 million tenge), Halyk Global Markets – 5.88% (464.86 million tenge), Halyk Finance – 5.72% (3.4 billion tenge), National Bank – 4.21%, Tansar Capital – 1.84% (0.51 million tenge, on the market since March 2026).
Earlier, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection announced that from September 2026, Kazakhs will be able to transfer up to 100% of their pension savings to private managers. Since 2023, they have been allowed to transfer no more than half of their funds.