Tan Sri Azlan Zainol
Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan
TAN Sri Azlan Zainol said he’s quitting as chief executive officer (CEO) of Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to make way for younger blood, after helming the world’s sixth-largest state pension fund for the past 12 years.
Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, currently deputy CEO and head of investment, will take the top job from April 16, said Azlan in a phone interview yesterday. The 63-year-old said he would retain his roles as chairman of Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd and director of financial services group RHB Capital Bhd.
“It’s right to leave when things are good,” said Azlan. “I’m not exactly retiring. I just want to change my lifestyle a bit, take things easy. I want younger people to take over.”
The Kuala Lumpur-based pension fund, known as EPF, declared a record RM27.5 billion (US$8.8 billion) payout to members for 2012, according to its website.
That was equivalent to a 6.15 per cent dividend, its highest rate in at least a decade. Its portfolio of assets grew to RM526.8 billion as of the end of December, mostly held through stable and low-risk fixed income securities, EPF said.
EPF was ranked sixth in asset size in a global survey by Towers Watson & Co released in August. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund was the largest.
The management change was first reported by the Malaysian Reserve yesterday, citing an internal announcement.
A public statement would be made later, Shahril said in a mobile text message to Bloomberg News. — Bloomberg