FCMB Group’s Pension Acquisition Journey

FCMB has been building its Pension Empire since 2008.

First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) in July 2008 formally signed an agreement with Legacy Pension Managers Limited to acquire 25% of the company. Under the agreement, FCMB acquired 25% stake in Legacy PFA through an investment of N300 million, and became the largest single shareholder in the Legacy PFA, while Legacy PFA became an associate subsidiary of FCMB.

As at October 2017 FCMB had a total of 28.2% stake in Legacy PFA, then FCMB Group entered into an agreement with other shareholders of Legacy Pension Managers Limited for the acquisition of an additional 60% stake in Legacy PFA. The acquisition increased FCMB’s interest in Legacy PFA to 88.2%, thus making Legacy PFA a subsidiary of FCMB and Legacy Pension Managers Limited was re branded to FCMB Pensions Limited.

June 2020, FCMB Pensions Limited which is a subsidiary of FCMB Group is set to acquire AIICO Pension Managers Limited. Though the approval is subject to regulatory approval, majorly from National Pension Commission and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, but the company is not expected to encounter any issue in getting the approval.

If FCMB Group wants to make a solid statement in the pension industry they need to do more than acquiring these two PFAs, the combination of FCMB Pensions Limited (formerly Legacy Pension Managers Limited) and AIICO Pension Managers Limited is not enough to make FCMB Group one of the largest players in the pension industry, they will need to acquire two or more Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) or wait for the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to open the “Transfer Window” and attract current Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders in other PFAs with excellent service and good returns on investment.