The largest financial campaign since the 1993 privatisation coupon programme ended last Thursday with an almost 50% higher-than-expected participation rate. People were attracted by two magic words: "private" and "free".
Around 3.6 million clients had chosen a mandatory private pension fund by Thursday, when the four-month campaign ended. This will be the business of the next decade in Romania, with the funds expected to manage between 8 and 10 billion euros.
Over the four months, a fierce battle was fought with advertising budgets worth tens of millions of euros, campaign concepts and strategies, as well as impressive sales forces, which involved tens of thousands of people. Almost the entire country was caught in private pensions fever, considering that the 3.6 million participants account for above one third of the working population and over 70% of employees.
The total number of clients topped even the most upbeat market expectations. Just six months ago, estimates on the size of the market ranged between 2.5 and 2.8 million customers.
On Thursday, mandatory private pensions' polls closed, with the top 5 management companies as the big winners: ING (with around 1.2 million clients), Allianz-Tiriac (900,000), Generali (340,000), Aviva (290,000) and Interamerican (225,000). Jointly, the top 5 funds attracted over 82% of customers on the market. "Given the total number of attracted customers, the campaign was definitely a success, both in terms of participants and the way the process unfolded," says Mircea Oancea, chairman of the Private Pension System Supervision Commission (CSPP).
Pension firms have different views about the end of the campaign, which depend on their achievements relative to the number of attracted customers, but the market sentiment is now a positive one. "The overall feeling is that of a successful campaign, dur
