Pension funds remain cautiously optimistic about EU referendum

The country's top ten pension funds left their portfolios little changed in April, with the largest local market players holding 70.4% of their cash in bonds and 24% in stocks. Managers in the $8.5 billion pensions industry saw little change in the near-term, amid widespread uncertainty over what direction markets will take. Even the June 7-8 referendum on EU accession is unlikely to drive asset shifts, with managers saying foreign capital is likely to set the lead. Polish fixed income markets have been underpinned by EU-linked optimism, as well as expectations of further interest rate cuts, driving yields on benchmark bonds below five percent for the first time since the collapse of communism. In April, pension funds received zł. 1.3 billion in premiums from the Social Insurance Board (ZUS), up from zł. 920 million in March. (Reuters) J.K.