Johannesburg, 16 September 2025 – EPPF today marked its 75^th anniversary with its annual Beyond Tomorrow Thought Leadership Breakfast, reaffirming its commitment to an equitable and sustainable future for its members, their families, and society. 

With R230 billion in assets under management as at June 2025, the Fund showcased its shift from sustainability to impact, building on previous dialogues that explored embedding sustainability principles into strategy and the leadership role pension funds can play across the value chain. 

“We firmly believe that asset owners are true catalysts of change,” said EPPF Chief Executive & Principal Officer Shafeeq Abrahams. “We hold the capital and the influence to set expectations, demand accountability and shape markets.” 

EPPF’s three pillars of environmental regeneration, economic parity, and social equality guide its investment strategy and engagement with stakeholders, ensuring that growth is balanced with fairness and resilience. The Fund highlighted progress on industry inclusion. Women currently manage R18.9 billion of its assets, including R18 billion in listed markets and R945-million commitments in private markets. It has also set ambitious targets to increase allocations to women-owned and women-led businesses to 20% by 2028 and 30% by 2033, while maintaining its fiduciary duty. Internally, diversity within investment leadership continues to grow, with women making up 31% of investment management decision-makers, 38% of portfolio managers, and 35% of analysts. 

This progress is significant given persistent industry-wide challenges. Research published in August by AMRI highlights that many firms have never had a senior female investment professional, women portfolio managers are often concentrated in small and medium firms, and they are disproportionately assigned low or moderate risk portfolios. Against this backdrop, EPPF has seeded three new women-led ventures and is incubating diverse talent to expand the pipeline of future investment leaders.  

As EPPF marks this milestone year, it calls on peers, regulators, and partners to collaborate in shaping a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient retirement industry. 

ENDS. 

About EPPF: The Fund provides retirement fund and investment management services to its members. Members join EPPF as part of the conditions of service of their participating employers (Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and its subsidiaries, as well as EPPF). In-service members who reach retirement age then become pensioners with a lifelong retirement benefit. Those who resign and choose to leave their retirement benefit to be managed by EPPF become deferred members. EPPF has about 80, 270 in-service and deferred members, as well as pensioners.  

MEDIA ENQUIRIES    
Helen Yardley 
Communications Manager 
helen@eppf.co.za