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Porvenir, the First Mandatory Pension Fund of Colombia
Published by Gbaf News
Posted on June 8, 2012
6 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
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Porvenir is a leading private AFP in Colombia, with a market share of 32.0% of mandatory pension fund individual customers and 30.9% of severance plan individual customers at March 31, 2012. Porvenir also provides voluntary pension funds and manages third-party sponsored pension funds. Pension funds provide individual savings for retirement, and severance funds provide temporary income to employees who lose their jobs. 
At March 31, 2012, Porvenir had Ps 44.1 billion in total assets under management, of which Ps 30.6 billion was managed under the mandatory pension fund, 2.7 billion was managed under the severance fund, Ps 2.0 billion was managed under the voluntary pension fund and 8.9 billion was managed as a third-party sponsored pension liability fund.
At March 31, 2012, Porvenir had shareholders’ equity of Ps 633.6 billion and net profits of Ps 48.8 billion. Since its inception, Porvenir has been the leader in the Colombian private pension and severance fund markets.
Porvenir’s strengths include the following:
- AFPs in Colombia, with an ROAE of 29.1% at March 31, 2012;
- Porvenir has the largest and, we believe, most effective sales force in the industry with a nationwide presence. At the same time, it is the most efficient AFP in Colombia, with an efficiency ratio of 35.8% at March 31, 2012; and
- Porvenir has access to Grupo Aval’s banking network. This advantage is particularly relevant in the severance market, as Grupo Aval’s banks provide financing to employers to comply with legally imposed annual severance allowance liabilities for their employees. In addition, the banks of Grupo Aval provide collection services for all of the funds administered by Porvenir.
History
Porvenir was formed in 1991, and began its operations as a leading severance fund manager with nationwide operations. The pension fund system in Colombia has been historically administered by the Colombian Institute of Social Security (now Colpensiones) and was a government-sponsored defined public benefit plan. In 1993, however, a system of defined individual contributions was introduced, to be administered by private pension companies under the supervision of the Superintendency of Finance. In contrast to the “pay as you go” system, this new system was characterized by being funded by the savings of each individual customer. This system has grown significantly to become the principal pension fund system in Colombia. As a result of the market shift, private pension companies have become important participants in the local capital markets.
In 1994, Porvenir commenced operations under this new regime, and rapidly became the leader in mandatory pension fund plans. At that time, Porvenir’s ownership was divided between Grupo Aval’s banks, which held a majority interest, and Provida, the largest AFP in Chile. In 2003, Porvenir founded an AFP in the Dominican Republic in association with local banks, which it sold in the same year to one of Provida’s related companies. At the same time Provida’s participation in Porvenir was bought by Grupo Aval entities.
In 2009, the regulatory system changed the mandatory pension system from a single fund for all affiliates to a multi-fund system (following examples in Chile, Mexico and Perú), which will continue to be implemented through 2011, allowing individuals to select from among funds with different risk profiles. This shift represented a milestone in the Colombian pension fund industry and allows for more flexibility and greater opportunities for AFPs in Colombia.
Porvenir is a leading private AFP in Colombia, with a market share of 32.0% of mandatory pension fund individual customers and 30.9% of severance plan individual customers at March 31, 2012. Porvenir also provides voluntary pension funds and manages third-party sponsored pension funds. Pension funds provide individual savings for retirement, and severance funds provide temporary income to employees who lose their jobs.
At March 31, 2012, Porvenir had Ps 44.1 billion in total assets under management, of which Ps 30.6 billion was managed under the mandatory pension fund, 2.7 billion was managed under the severance fund, Ps 2.0 billion was managed under the voluntary pension fund and 8.9 billion was managed as a third-party sponsored pension liability fund.
At March 31, 2012, Porvenir had shareholders’ equity of Ps 633.6 billion and net profits of Ps 48.8 billion. Since its inception, Porvenir has been the leader in the Colombian private pension and severance fund markets.
Porvenir’s strengths include the following:
- AFPs in Colombia, with an ROAE of 29.1% at March 31, 2012;
- Porvenir has the largest and, we believe, most effective sales force in the industry with a nationwide presence. At the same time, it is the most efficient AFP in Colombia, with an efficiency ratio of 35.8% at March 31, 2012; and
- Porvenir has access to Grupo Aval’s banking network. This advantage is particularly relevant in the severance market, as Grupo Aval’s banks provide financing to employers to comply with legally imposed annual severance allowance liabilities for their employees. In addition, the banks of Grupo Aval provide collection services for all of the funds administered by Porvenir.
History
Porvenir was formed in 1991, and began its operations as a leading severance fund manager with nationwide operations. The pension fund system in Colombia has been historically administered by the Colombian Institute of Social Security (now Colpensiones) and was a government-sponsored defined public benefit plan. In 1993, however, a system of defined individual contributions was introduced, to be administered by private pension companies under the supervision of the Superintendency of Finance. In contrast to the “pay as you go” system, this new system was characterized by being funded by the savings of each individual customer. This system has grown significantly to become the principal pension fund system in Colombia. As a result of the market shift, private pension companies have become important participants in the local capital markets.
In 1994, Porvenir commenced operations under this new regime, and rapidly became the leader in mandatory pension fund plans. At that time, Porvenir’s ownership was divided between Grupo Aval’s banks, which held a majority interest, and Provida, the largest AFP in Chile. In 2003, Porvenir founded an AFP in the Dominican Republic in association with local banks, which it sold in the same year to one of Provida’s related companies. At the same time Provida’s participation in Porvenir was bought by Grupo Aval entities.
In 2009, the regulatory system changed the mandatory pension system from a single fund for all affiliates to a multi-fund system (following examples in Chile, Mexico and Perú), which will continue to be implemented through 2011, allowing individuals to select from among funds with different risk profiles. This shift represented a milestone in the Colombian pension fund industry and allows for more flexibility and greater opportunities for AFPs in Colombia.
