• With nearly 16 million dollars invested, the Company ratifies its commitment to innovation, digital transformation and the customers' experience.
• More than 14 initiatives and technological developments were created to improve the service experience, focusing on the needs of its members and pensioners.
• Currently, the PFA that manages more than 100 billion pesos from almost 7 million clients, states that one of its major commitments is to work for a system aimed at providing solutions to the challenges of saving for a better future.
• In 2018, emphasis was given to platforms such as Universidad Protección, which is focused on pedagogy and increased levels of financial education.
Medellín, March 20, 2019. During the results presentation of the annual shareholders' meeting of Protección, Juan David Correa Solórzano, the Company’s president, presented the progress made in 2018 based on the experience of almost 7 million customers, relying on innovation as the articulating axis with teams of high leadership levels and customer focus.
"In Protección we are convinced that the generation of significant and differentiated value allows us to increase competitiveness, ensure sustainability in the long term and contribute to the construction of a fairer society, inclusive both socially and economically. This is why we bet on innovation, building capacities for growth and following-up the decisions of the customers who trust us," said Juan David Correa.
Materialization of the customer's experience
Before the Shareholders' Meeting, the President of Protección pointed out that the Company continued with their customers' experience transformation, getting to know them better as a starting point, relying on tools such as innovation, artificial intelligence, analytics and robotics, which have served to transform this new knowledge about customers into solutions in order to guarantee the fulfillment of its value promise.
In this field, the Company invested more than USD 16 million during 2018. Likewise, they were also recognized by the Global Business & Finance Awards as the most innovative Pension Fund in Colombia and also Pension Fund of the Year - Colombia 2018.
Protección is a leader in the administration of Voluntary Pension Funds in Colombia, with a market share of 42.7% in fund value. In savings and investment, it kept on strengthening its portfolio of solutions and investment alternatives, incorporating robotics and artificial intelligence to this process with the Protección Smart service, a tool that facilitates the savings diversification according to each client risk profile and investment perspectives.
With regard to the pension issue, it is worth noting its active participation in various scenarios related to adjustments required by the Colombian pension system, seeking to generate significant contributions so that the country has an elderly protection system guided by principles of equity, coverage and sustainability. Juan David Correa states that "the Government has a great responsibility with the country's future, social equity, economic stability and solutions that cannot be postponed. That is why all pension system's actors must continue supporting the preparation of proposals that allow for developing a comprehensive vision of the General Pension System in Colombia."
With the aim of providing people with a better understanding of pension issues, a greater savings culture and better ownership of their financial future, Protección keeps developing educational programs such as Universidad Protección, an interactive platform that serve its clients in making informed decisions. Through this, they have made an impact on more than 17 thousand companies nationwide, along with their workers.
Demographic trends indicate a remarkable increase in the older adult population and life expectancy. Consistent with this, Protección, in addition to strengthening its offer to serve its nearly 50 thousand pensioners, in 2018 designed Siempre Activo, a solution for savings and productive ageing, showing that even in adulthood, people want to have financial options that allow them to keep reaching for their dreams. From a perspective of sustainability and social responsibility, the Company kept on focusing on Care Training for the Elderly and Strengthening the culture around the aging process through its Viviendo Mejor program.
Results of pension and severance funds
The Moderate Pension Fund reached profitability levels in the amount of 6.39% EA over the last 48 months. For its part, the Conservative Fund achieved a return of 7.79% EA in 36 months, the Higher Risk Fund achieved a return of 6.72% EA in 60 months, while the Programmed Retirement Fund, exclusive for pensioners, closed at 8.42% EA in 36 months.
As for the Voluntary Pension Fund, managed resources amounted to $7.7 billion with a market share of 42.7% per fund value, figures that allow Protección to maintain its leadership in this segment. Finally, the Severance Fund closed the year with a value of $ 4.1 billion from 2.5 million affiliates and a return on the two-year long-term portfolio of 3.24% EA, and in the short-term portfolio at three months of 3.46% EA.
"Our portfolio management was aimed at seeking opportunities for clients with materialization perspectives in the medium term, relying on adequate risk management associated with key factors of 2018, such as the financial markets volatility and the economic environment uncertainty," explained Correa Solórzano.
Management Company Results.
The Protección pension fund increased its total assets by 1.6% and closed 2018 with $2.1 billion. This positive trend is also shown in its equity that compared to 2017 results, showed a growth of 2.4% reaching close to $1.5 billion pesos.
During that year, the Company achieved adequate control of administrative expenses, which grew 2.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. This allowed it to be an outstanding year operation wise. Likewise, its revenues reached $ 1.30 billion, 13% more than the previous year. At the end of 2018, net income stood at $ 205,142 million.
At the Shareholders' Meeting, shareholders approved the retained earnings distribution project as of December 31, 2018, which establishes dividends payment of $4,327 per share over 25,407,446 shares.
About Protección
Protección S.A. are experts in savings and investment, with more than 28 years of fund management experience for over 100 billion pesos from nearly 7 million clients to the Mandatory, Voluntary and Severance Pensions funds and 54 thousand pensioners.
The Company has transcended its category, invigorating its business focus in the assets management destined for mandatory pensions and severance, taking it to a next level, which involves the mobilization and savings management, while becoming an ally of its interest groups and walking beside them in the fulfillment of their dreams and the construction of their future.
Its shareholders include Sura Asset Management (49.36%), Caja Colombiana de Subsidio Familiar - Colsubsidio (16.41%), Bancolombia S.A. (10.68%), Fiduciaria Bancolombia S.A. (9.9%), Cornerstone LP (7.53%), among other minority shareholders (6.12%).
