OREANDA-NEWS. On December 27, 2008 The Commission set up by OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (MMC Norilsk Nickel or the Company) to review the current status of the Non-Governmental Pension Fund Norilsk Nickel (NPF or the Fund) and its asset management results for the last five months disclosed its findings, reported the press-centre of Norilsk Nickel.

The Commission has revealed the following:

More than 95% of the Fund’s assets have been unreasonably invested in a single management company – Rosbank Asset Management Company, an affiliate of ONEXIM Group. Such investment strategy contradicts the risks reduction principle implying diversification of investments. Assets have been transferred to this management company at the time when the Company lost control over NPF (previously eight management companies had been involved).

In the last five months the Fund incurred losses of more than 1 billion rubles.

Management companies made unsubstantiated and inefficient investment decisions that involved purchases of stocks and bonds.

The Commission stressed lack of efficiency in the use of the Fund’s means, which resulted in five-fold reduction of its statutory property by 5 times against 2007 figures.

The costs incurred in the Fund’s operations seem to be excessive.

The new management of NPF Norilsk Nickel that was appointed immediately upon resignations of the previous Council of the Fund has proposed measures to improve existing conditions and developed several scenarios for strategic development of the Fund.

The new Council of NPF Norilsk Nickel includes:
- Council Chairman Kirill Parinov, Deputy General Director – Head of Corporate, Proprietary and Legal Issues at MMC Norilsk Nickel,

- Council member, President of the Fund Sergey Fedorov, MMC Norilsk Nickel Insurance Department Director,

- Council member Irina Zabolotnaya – Administrative Department Deputy Director at MMC Norilsk Nickel.

According to Kirill Parinov, "the new management team of NPF Norilsk Nickel is doing its best to ensure sustained operation of the Fund and to carry out the Fund’s obligations before participants".