By Layi Adeloye Friday, 18 Jun 2010       

The revelation two weeks ago by the Director-General, National Pension Commission, Dr. Mohammad Ahmad, that more Pension Fund Administrators were likely to go into mergers has started taking root as the boards of ARM Pension Managers Limited and First Alliance Pension & Benefits Limited enter into an alliance.

Ahmad, at a pension stakeholders‘ forum in Lagos, had said that some pension fund administrators were on the verge of merging their businesses.He said two PFAs had voluntarily decided to merge, a process which they started 18 months ago, adding that when they concluded the process, they would address stakeholders on the development.

He also revealed that four other PFAs were already making arrangement to come together.According to a statement on Thursday, the Managing Director of ARM Pension Managers, Mr. Funso Doherty, was quoted as saying that the combination between ARM and First Alliance was an important component in the implementation of the company‘s strategy and would further strengthen its well-established positions in existing markets, while opening up compelling opportunities in new ones.

He added that the merger further consolidated the company‘s acknowledged competitive strengths in the pension industry.According to him, ”We recognise and thank the National Pension Commission, our primary regulator, for providing exemplary supervisory oversight during the course of our discussions.”

The statement added that shareholders and regulatory approvals had been obtained, noting that the new entity would henceforth trade as ”ARM Pension Managers.”An important aspect of the new deal, according to Doherty, is that the new entity remains a subsidiary of Asset & Resource Management Company Limited, which is reputed to be one of Nigeria’s most prominent and respected financial service brands.

(Source:Punch)