Having been at the starting blocks for nearly two months since the date initially announced for the start of the campaign to collect applications for mandatory private pensions, on 17 September our marketing agents finally had the chance to start the race for Pillar II, which will go on for four months with the target of a potential market of 3,500,000 people!
Having been at the starting blocks for nearly two months since the date initially announced for the start of the campaign to collect applications for mandatory private pensions, on 17 September our marketing agents finally had the chance to start the race for Pillar II, which will go on for four months with the target of a potential market of 3,500,000 people!
After the first two weeks, over 450,000 Romanians have already signed their application forms for a mandatory private pension (pillar II), according to data provided by the National House of Pensions and National Insurance (CNPAS). This means that, in practice, 15% of the market has already opted for one of the funds on the market.
Of the 17 companies which have signed up for the battle for pillar II, four have reported zero sales, while the rest have achieved figures covering a fairly wide range. Aviva has sent 65,120 applications to CNPAS, putting it in second place in the list of administrators after this first progress report (the number of Aviva application is twice as large as that reported by the company in third place).
It is absolutely extraordinary how the Romanians have engaged with this campaign to collect applications for mandatory private pension. Aviva has been running a promotional campaign for its Pensia Viva product since 17 September, and the reaction of those who have seen our campaign has been extremely positive... and pro-active! So much so that Aviva marketing agents have been on the road permanently, either meeting with current Aviva customers or with potential customers who have requested a meeting after seeing the Aviva advert.
In any event, Aviva's sales policy is extremely clear in this regard. We do not bombard existing customers with persistent approaches, and nor do we bombard potential customers, if they have not indicated that they want to find out more about our products.
In all their contacts with potential clients, Aviva's financial consultants try to provide some financial education, in addition to promoting products from our own portfolio.
"In a study carried out last year by Henley Center Headlight and JFK, entitled ‘Consumer Attitudes to Savings 2006', 45% of Romanians told us that they want to talk to someone who understands their needs. We believe that there is a gap both in the provision of this kind of advice and in trust in the financial services industry, because of the traditionally difficult methods of handling sales in the financial services market. We also believe that this is one of the main reasons why Romanians are not prepared for retirement: the lack of access to professional financial planning services. We are delighted to be able to play an important role in Romanians' financial planning," stated Shah Rouf, director general of Aviva Romania.
"We believe that the private pension product offered by Aviva will help Romanians to save for their retirement efficiently. It is important that they understand that now, this percentage which is transferred from their national insurance contributions goes directly into their pension account, thus becoming a definite source of income and not a hypothetical notion, as it has been to date," added Shah.
"Aviva has proposed researching its customers' opinions on a permanent basis, and to this end it has developed on its own website an interactive platform which facilitates this direct communication. Also worthy of a mention is the fact that hits to the www.aviva.ro website have increased considerably of late, with the number of visitors over the two weeks since the launch of the campaign being over 110,000!
"We believe that a very good relationship with all those interested in our products can only be an advantage to us in the long term; the positive feedback that it creates spreads much more quickly than any press release."
Aviva has ambitious plans for the mandatory private pensions market, and aims to win 30% of this market.
"Aviva is one of the largest overseas investors operating in the financial services market in Romania. The company is proposing to invest up to 100 million euros in its newly established pensions company. We have over 31,000 well-trained marketing agents authorised by the CSSPP and one of the best investments teams in the country. First place in the mandatory private pensions market is not an act of courage, but of perseverance," stated Shah Rouf.
-ends-
For further information:
Giliola Ignat
Marketing Manager - Advertising & PR
Telephone: 0723 310 378
E-mail: giliola.ignat@aviva.ro
Notes to editors:
About the Aviva group
Aviva is the oldest insurance group in the world and the largest in Great Britain, dating back to 1696. Today, Aviva has 59,000 employees and 40 million customers in 27 countries across the world.
Aviva is the market leader for life insurance in Europe. Aviva has revenue from insurance premiums and investments totalling 61 billion euros and administers over 535 billion euros' worth of funds.
The Aviva Romania
Aviva Romania includes three companies: Aviva Life Insurance, Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pension Fund, and Certinvest (purchased on 13 September 2007).
About Aviva Life Insurance and Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pensions Fund
Aviva began operating as a provider of life insurance in Romania in 2000 (Aviva Life Insurance SA) and currently insures over 430,000 Romanians.
On 26 July 2007, Aviva received approval from the Oversight Committee for the System of Private Pensions to set up a company to administer private pensions (Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pension Fund SA), and on 25 August received authorisation to administer its mandatory pension fund - Pensia Viva.
About Certinvest
Certinvest currently administers 24 million euros in 4 mutual funds, each of them based around a different type of investment: Intercapital - a shares fund, Capital Plus - a balanced fund, Orizont - a fixed-income (bonds) fund and Tezaur, a capital market fund. Certinvest also administers individual investment accounts for high-earning customers.
Certinvest has shown throughout the years that it is one of the most dynamic and innovative administrators in the market. The company launched the first commission-free sales fund on the Romanian market (Tezaur) and the first bonds fund in Romania (Orizont). Certinvest is also proud to support the bull market for investment funds in Romania.
About Pensia Viva
The investment policy of the Pensia Viva Product fund, administered by the Aviva Company consists of a mixture of prudent and balanced investments.
By means of the investment policy, the Pensia Viva privately administered pension fund sets the following limits on the structure of assets, depending on availability on the market of the assets in question, whilst not exceeding the maximum levels set in law:
| Type of financial product | Minimum allowed in the fund | Balance Structure | Maximum allowed in the fund |
| - bonds and other transferable securities of foreign non-governmental organisations, if these products are listed on authorised stock exchanges and meet rating requirements¹ | 0% | 4% | 5% |
| - state deeds issued by the Romanian Public Finance Ministry, issued by EU member states or those belonging to the European Economic Area | 45% | 55% | 70% |
| - state deeds and other transferable securities issued by third-party states | 0% | 11% | 15% |
| Type of financial product | Minimum allowed in the fund | Balance structure | Maximum allowed in the fund |
| - transferable securities traded on regulated and supervised markets in EU member states, including Romania, or those belonging to the European Economic Area; | 10% | 30% | 35% |
| - products on money markets including accounts and deposits in lei at a bank, with a Romanian legal representative, or at a branch of a foreign credit institution authorised to operate on Romanian territory; | 0% | 10%³ | |
| - bonds and other transferable securities, issued by local public administration authorities in Romania or EU member states or those belonging to the European Economic Area | 0% | 10% | |
| - bonds and other transferable securities, traded on regulated and supervised markets, issued by local public administration authorities in third-party states | 0% | 10% | |
| - deeds of participation issued by collective placement organisations in transferable securities in Romania or in other countries | 0% | 5% |