GEPF's listed portfolio earned 24% while its developmental arm recorded negative returns in 2026

Annual investment return (%) by mandate type, GEPF assets under PIC management, FY2026

R160bn

GEPF pension outflows met by PIC in FY2026

R3.244tr

total GEPF assets under PIC management, 2026

Public Market Mandate · ~96% of GEPF

Listed Equities, Bonds & Money Market

+24.21%

FY2026 total return vs CPI+5.5% target

Domestic & global listed equity
Domestic fixed income & bonds
Consistently beats CPI+ benchmarks
Liquidates assets to fund R160bn in FY2026 outflows

Unlisted / Isibaya Mandate · ~4% of GEPF

Private Equity, Impact Loans & B-BBEE

−0.2%

FY2026 internal rate of return

Direct private equity & impact loans
B-BBEE transformation & infrastructure
Scarred by Ayo, Daybreak Farms & VBS
Recurring due diligence failures and impairments

The PIC manages R3.244 trillion of GEPF assets — the retirement savings of more than 1.28 million government workers — with 96% deployed in listed public-market instruments that returned 24.21% in FY2026, far exceeding the CPI+5.5% benchmark. But the remaining 4% allocated to unlisted developmental investments under the Isibaya mandate posted a negative return of -0.2% in FY2026, a portfolio repeatedly damaged by high-profile failures including Ayo Technology, Daybreak Farms, and VBS Mutual Bank. Therefore, while GEPF members' core savings are being managed with discipline, a politically-adjacent minority of their pension capital continues to lose value — and the PIC's rising management fees, up 15% to R1.427 billion in 2026, are being passed directly back onto the fund.