Member Article

The National Pension Commission (PENCOM) recently introduced a new category of fund which complies with sharia principles of investment. The Non-Interest Fund (Fund VI) permits pension contributors and retirees to choose the preferred investment portfolio they would want their pension contributions remitted to.         

 By the Operational Framework regulating the VI, contributions made to the fund cannot be invested in the production or trading of alcohol, pornography, weaponry, gambling/betting, speculation, interest earning ventures and other similar undertakings that are contrary to Sharia principles. Furthermore, the scope of the prohibited schemes for the Fund VI is to be determined from time to time by the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE), an advisory body on Islamic Banking and Finance established by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to advice on matters relating to Islamic commercial jurisprudence.