The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) adopted Resolution No. 155 on October 30, 2026, changing the rules for the fiduciary management of pension assets. Investment portfolio managers (IPMs) now have the right to offer Kazakhstanis up to three different strategies. The regulator’s official Telegram channel reported this, and the publication DKNews provides further details.
Before this document, private managers operated under a single model: one general investment strategy applied to all contributors of a specific company. Now, access to instruments depends on the time remaining until retirement.
Three Risk Levels
Under the new rules, managers can form three types of portfolios with different foreign currency limits:
- The conservative portfolio is available to all contributors. The share of foreign currency assets in it cannot exceed 40%.
- The moderate portfolio is intended for citizens with more than three years left until retirement. The limit on foreign currency investments is up to 70%.
- The risky portfolio is designed for contributors with more than 13 years remaining until retirement. Here, managers can hold up to 80% of assets in foreign currency.
Contributors can distribute their savings among several management companies or between different portfolios within a single IPM.
Strategy Switching and Yield Guarantees
Switching from one portfolio to another within the same manager is allowed no more than once a year by submitting an application on the UAPF website. If a person eventually stops meeting the age requirements of their chosen strategy, the pension fund will automatically transfer their savings to an appropriate portfolio with the same manager.
To protect funds, compensation is provided. If the portfolio’s yield falls below the minimum value, the manager must cover the difference using their own capital. The performance evaluation period depends on the risk level: 12 months for the conservative strategy, 36 months for the moderate, and 60 months for the risky.
According to DKNews, the minimum allowable yield will be 90% of the market benchmark for the conservative portfolio, 85% for the moderate, and 80% for the risky. Meanwhile, an August draft resolution described by Forbes featured stricter thresholds—95%, 90%, and 85%, respectively. The exact benchmark parameters and final figures will be confirmed after the official publication of Resolution No. 155 on the regulatory legal acts portal.
Expanding the portfolio lineup continues the pension asset management reform. On September 7, 2026, a law came into force allowing contributors to transfer up to 100% of their mandatory pension savings to private managers, up from the previous 50%.