EPFO not to invest in equities, MFs

The central board of trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which has a corpus of about Rs 1,30,000 crore, has decided against investing a portion of its assets in mutual funds and equities.

"We do not want to take risks as the central board of trustees has clearly decided not to go for investments in the share market or mutual funds," labour minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said today.

The decision against investing money in stock markets, he said, was taken to protect workers' savings.

The statement comes after EPFO's decision to appoint a global consultant, Mercer Human Resources, to suggest measures to change investment patterns, including parking a portion of funds in equities, to earn higher income.

The decision by EPFO also comes in view of the finance ministry allowing non-state provident funds to invest up to 5% of their assets in equities and equity-related mutual funds.