EPFO To Invest Rs 5,000 crore in exchange traded funds In Equity

EPFO will start investing in stock markets from next month as part of its plan to put in as much as Rs 5,000 crore in exchange traded funds (ETFs) by the end of this fiscal. "We will start investing in the exchange trade funds from next month. We have planned to invest 5% of our incremental deposits in ETFs during this fiscal," Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's Central Provident Fund Commissioner K K Jalan told PTI. "EPFO is expected to get about Rs 1 lakh crore as incremental deposit during the current financial year. Thus, we would be able to invest Rs 5,000 crore in ETFs during this fiscal," he added. Earlier, the EPFO, which has over 6 crore subscribers, has been investing primarily in state and central government securities. The new investment pattern notified on April 23 by the Labour Ministry states that EPFO will invest a minimum of 5 per cent and up to 15 per cent of incremental deposits in equity or equity-related schemes.