Dear Colleagues and Friends,
This broadcast is being transmitted on behalf of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund’s Secretariat participants’ representatives, as well as the UNISERV Federation and the UN Field Staff Union.
Please feel free to re-broadcast and/or share widely with your colleagues.
Following enquiries from staff regarding a petition which is circulating among UN staff through social media and WhatsApp messages regarding the investments branch of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF), we would like to provide the following clarification:
In response to recent concerns raised by representatives of a Staff Federation, the Representative of the Secretary General / Chief, Office of Investment Management (OIM) held a meeting to address those concerns in which all three staff federations participated.
He subsequently provided a statement in which he confirmed that despite recent turmoil in global markets, the UNJSPF remains in a strong and stable financial position. Indeed, as of 9 March 2022, the preliminary market value of the Fund stood at US$ 83.9 billion. This means that the long-term real rate of return remains above the 3.5 per cent minimum that is required to ensure the Fund’s financial sustainability.
It should also be noted that during the recent Board session in February 2022, the Board noted that the Fund’s assets will not be outsourced. Only 18% of the portfolio are PLANNED TO BE temporary managed by external managers under the Fund’s control. Therefore, the claims made in the petition are completely unsubstantiated.
In fact, the Fund is currently updating its Investment Policy, which will be presented to the UNJSPF Board at its 72nd session in July 2022, in line with Article 19 of the UNJSPF Rules and Regulations.
Based on the above, it can be concluded that the petition was initiated using flawed assumptions which do not accurately represent the factual situation.
Furthermore, it appears that there may be underlying motivations for its instigation that have not been transparently presented.
Accordingly, we strongly advise you not to sign the petition.
For more reliable information and to gain a proper more complete understanding of the issue, we encourage you to refer to clarification on the fixed income portfolio dated 16 March as well as the full statement provided by the Representative of the Secretary General:
Please find those statements here, RSG Statement 16 March, and here, RSG Statement 11 March.
For your information and guidance.
Sincerely,
Mark Polane
UNFSU President, UNISERV President