Fund Manager's Report

At the September Monthly Bond Auction, the Debt Management Office (DMO) offered a total of N200Bn with total allotments at c.N576.624Bn, across the 17.945% FGN AUG 2030, and the 17.95% FGN JUNE 2032 papers allotted at marginal rates of 16.0000% and 16.2000%, respectively.

Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), conducted the last NTB auction of the month by issuing 91-day (Offer: ₦30.0bn; Subscription: ₦61.352bn; Sale: ₦30.321bn), 182-day (Offer: ₦60.0bn; Subscription: ₦50.069bn; Sale: ₦42.276bn), and 364-day (Offer: ₦200.0bn; Subscription: ₦1,479.63bn; Sale: ₦272.499bn) instruments with stop rates of 15.0000%, 15.3000%, and 16.7800%, respectively.

In September, the NGX-ASI rose by 1.72% to print at 142,710.48 points, and YTD performance grew to 38.65% (previously: 36.31%) while market capitalization rose 44.32% to ₦90.580tn. The rally was driven by increased investor interest in particular stocks, bolstered by solid corporate earnings and better economic data.

Also, the NGX Pension Broad and NGX-30 indices registered gains of 44.85% and 36.71%, respectively. Commencing the year at 1,826.89 points and 3,811.94 points, they concluded the period at 2,646.28 points and 5,211.19 points, respectively.

Furthermore, other corporate disclosures during the month are as follows: United Bank for Africa Plc|2025H1: N0.25k, GTCO Plc|2025H1: N1.0k, Zenith Bank Plc|2025H1: N1.25k, Stanbic IBTC Plc|2025H1: N2.50k, Listing of FCMB Group Plc’s 3,166,284,712 Ordinary Shares arising from Conversion of Mandatory Convertible Loan of N23,113,878,388.75 (Inclusive of Accrued Interest), to Equity at a Conversion Price of N7.30 Per Share, among others.

The chart below shows the trend of the NGX ASI and market capitalization:

In the currency market, the performance of the Naira was impressive. Specifically, Naira gained 3.72% m/m against the base currency to ₦1,475.00/$1.00 at the NAFEM window, supported by the CBN’s intervention. Also, it appreciated by 2.34% m/m at the parallel market to close at ₦1,502.00/$1.00.

Elsewhere, Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves grew by 2.57% m/m to close at $42.33 billion as of September 29, 2025. Next month, we expect the naira to remain relatively stable, supported by robust FX liquidity and sustained inflows from both domestic and foreign sources.

Find below the key economic indicators for your perusal:

The Asset Allocation and performance of our NLPC PFA – RSA Fund I as at 30th September, 2025 stood as follows:  

Quoted Equities 9%, Government Securities 58%, Money Market 27%, Cash & Others 6%. The unit price grew from N1.9976 in June, 2025 to N2.0737 as of 30^th September, 2025; translating to a year-to-date positive growth of 15.14% and an annualized return of 20.24%.

The Asset Allocation and performance of our NLPC PFA – RSA Fund II as at 30th September, 2025  stood as follows:

Quoted Equities 10%, Government Securities 56%, Money Market 19% and Cash & Others 15%. The unit price grew from N7.8065 in June, 2025 to N8.1784 as of 30^th September 2025, translating to a year-to-date positive growth of 14.41% and an annualized return of 19.27%.

The Asset Allocation and performance of our NLPC PFA – RSA Fund III as at 30th September, 2025  stood as follows:

Quoted Equities 7%, Government Securities 66%, Money Market 17% and Cash & Others 10%. The unit price grew from N2.3394 in June, 2025 to N2.4383 as at 30^th September, 2025, translating to a year-to-date positive growth of 12.02% and an annualized return of 16.07%.

The Asset Allocation and performance of our NLPC PFA – RSA Fund IV as at 30th September, 2025  stood as follows:

Quoted Equities 2%, Government Securities 70%, Money Market 23% and Cash & Others 5%. The unit price grew from N6.8108 in June, 2025 to N7.0722 as at 30^th September, 2025 translating to a year-to-date positive growth of 10.85% and an annualized return of 14.50%.

The Asset Allocation and performance of our NLPC PFA – RSA Fund V as at 30th September, 2025  stood as follows:

Quoted Equities 7%, Government Securities 5%, Money Market 79% and Cash & Others 9%. The unit price grew from N1.9241 in June, 2025 to N2.0537 as of 30^th September, 2025 translating to a year-to-date positive growth of 19.53% and an annualized return of 26.11%.

The Asset Allocation and performance of our NLPC PFA – RSA Fund VI - Active as at 30th September, 2025  stood as follows:

Quoted Equities 3%, Government Securities 60%, Money Market 31% and Cash & Others 6%. The unit price grew from N1.7715 in June, 2025 to N1.8691 as of 30^th September, 2025 translating to a year-to-date positive growth of 17.33% and an annualized return of 23.17%.

The Asset Allocation and performance of our NLPC PFA – RSA Fund VI - Retiree as at 30th September, 2025  stood as follows:

Quoted Equities 3%, Government Securities 60%, Money Market 37% and Cash & Others 3%. The unit price grew from N1.5788 in June, 2025 to N1.6616 as of 30^th September, 2025 translating to a year-to-date positive growth of 16.68% and an annualized return of 22.30%.

• Amid ongoing trade tensions and record-high policy uncertainty, the path forward for the global economy in October 2025 will depend on how policymakers and businesses respond to these escalating pressures. That said, we expect increasing divergent growth and risk patterns across regions going forward.

• African economy is forecast to grow in the coming period, driven by rising export demand, economic reforms, increased intra-Africa trades, declining inflation and increased investment flows. Key challenges include insufficient capital mobilization, rising conflict, climate change impacts, security concerns and the need for better governance to unlock the continent's full potential for sustainable development and poverty reduction.   

• In the local market, Nigeria’s inflation is expected to remain softer compared to the 2024 average, due to structural reforms, the removal of protectionist policies, anticipated monetary policy adjustments, baseline effects, improvements in foreign exchange dynamics, and the fading impact of earlier government reforms, should support medium-term economic growth. Therefore, we project that interest rates may likely decline in the coming period.

• In the local market, Nigeria’s inflation is expected to decline going forward, underpinned by improved domestic food supply, harvest season, relative exchange rate stability and moderate energy costs. Therefore, we project that interest rates may likely drop further in the coming period.

• We expect the sentiments across the financial market to be positive in October 2025, especially in the equities market, as more investors take positions in anticipation of impressive Q3 results and improved economic data. In view of the expectation that interest rates may go down in the fixed income market, we expect the buying sentiment to be sustained at the mid and long end of the curve, as MPC may likely continue its business-friendly expansionary monetary policy going forward.

• Our strategy in the coming period would be to increase our exposure to fixed-income securities, with bias for those at the mid and long ends of the yield curve, and scale up our exposure to variable income securities, at the same time, ensuring we balance risk and opportunity while diversifying across different asset classes, not leaving behind our responsibilities of meeting all financial obligations as and when due.

  .