Relocating investments by Tunisian insurance and pension funds towards alternative assets opportunities

Abstract

This article explores the different barriers preventing Tunisian insurance and pension funds relocating their investments to alternative assets as a source of diversification and the different policy-led measures that could be put in place to support them during their initial years of existence. Data analysis techniques, namely multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical classification, are employed to hold the analysis in alignment with the research aim. The study investigates four groups of Tunisian insurance and pension funds, each characterized by its own investment challenges regarding alternative assets. Subsequently, the study examines certain improvement areas, for instance, reforming the legislative framework to facilitate a supportive tax environment, ensure information symmetry and transparency, etc. The approach of this study is novel for being the first of its kind to explore Tunisian insurance and pension ‘funds’ investments in alternative assets through data analysis techniques. In view of the fact that the history of research on this topic has been brief and fragmented, limited mostly to mature markets, the outcomes of this research can offer useful insights for policymakers in the emerging economies, particularly those undergoing reforms in young democracies like Tunisia in Africa, Eastern and Central Europe, and Latin America.