Stake of 18% in Bulgaria's Yuri Gagarin changes hands in EUR 3.5 mln OTC deal An 18% stake in Bulgarian cigarette packages and filters maker Yuri Gagarin changed hands in a BGN 6.87 million deal on the over-the-counter (OTC) segment of the Sofia bourse. A total of 180,703 company shares were traded at a price of BGN 38 per share, Capman, which acted as a consultant on the pre-agreed deal, said on Wednesday. The brokerage did not disclose the two sides of the transaction. This information should be released by the country's Central Depository on Monday. According to Capital daily, the 18% stake corresponds to the share owned by controversial local businessman and member of parliament Delyan Peevski. Peevski, who owns stakes in a number of local companies, announced earlier this year he would sell all of his businesses due to negative media publicity. In March, Peevski sold his officially-owned 5% stake in tobacco group Bulgartabac Holding to Dubai-based TGI Middle East FZE. On Wednesday, Yuri Gagarin share price fell 4.2% to 34 levs as 50 shares changed hands on the regulated market of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
Source: Banker (21.04.2016)

Financial Supervision Commission approved three companies that will carry out the verification of the assets of the pension insurance companies in the country. These are PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit OOD, RSM Bulgaria OOD and HLB Bulgaria OOD. The controls cover a total of 27 universal, occupational and voluntary pension funds in Bulgaria. Reviewed by independent external experts will begin on July 15, 2016 and the results will be announced on 1 December. Pension Insurance Company Doverie and PSC DSK-Rodina have chosen their funds to be checked by PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit. Auditor RSM Bulgaria have been chosen by three companies - Saglasie - Pension Insurance Company, CCB - Sila Pension Insurance and Allianz Bulgaria. Pension funds NN Pension, Pension Insurance Company Future, Pension Assurance Institute and Pension Insurance Company Toplina will be audited by HLB Bulgaria OOD.
Source: Trud (13.06.2016)

Nearly 50 thousand. Provided have changed their pension fund Retirement accounts into universal funds totaling nearly BGN 100 million were transferred from one fund to another only during the first three months of the year. This is the largest amount that insured persons moved within one quarter in the past five years. The number of lots is also record high- almost 50 thousand people chose to be insured by a different fund. The most new customers - over 15 thousand were attracted by universal fund DSK Rodina. Normally it has attracted the greatest net amount of the transfer of pension accounts - more than BGN 22 million. The second fund that attracted the largest number of insured persons is the one from which most customers have moved. Universal Fund Alliance has attracted fewer people than it lost, but it registered BGN 3.7 million more assets. Voluntary funds reported significantly less activity. Most new clients were attracted by Allianz. Overall for the system almost 54 thousand affiliates have replaced the fund. Of these, over 49 thousand are insured in universal funds, 3,500 - professional, and just under 500 - in voluntary.
Source: Capital (03.08.2016)

Four Bulgarian pension funds invested BGN 22 million with SOFIX-based exchange-traded fund Expat Bulgaria. The investment in Expat Bulgaria ETF was made by pension funds Doverie, Allianz Bulgaria, NN and DSK Rodina. The fund's growth will allow Expat Asset Management to continue with its plan to stir the Bulgarian capital market by launching a procedure for cross-listing of the fund's units on a large foreign market. This will ensure the access of foreign investors from all over the world to the fund, which will further increase its size. Expat Asset Management is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Expat Capital, which is managing private investment accounts and three mutual funds – Expat Emerging Markets Stocks, Expat Global Equities, and Expat Bonds.
Source: Capital (09.11.2016)