2026-06-30

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Ordinance No. 4 of 30.06.2026 on the Performance Comparison Indicators for Sub-funds in Universal Pension Funds and Professional Pension Funds

The Commission for Financial Supervision issued Ordinance No. 4 to establish the methodology for calculating and publishing performance comparison indicators for sub-funds in universal and professional pension funds. The regulation defines specific asset components and relative weights for dynamic, balanced, and conservative sub-funds, along with formulas for quarterly and annual benchmark calculations. It mandates the publication of these indicators and achieved fund returns, with transitional provisions governing the initial calculation periods starting in 2027 and repealing the previous 2003 Ordinance No. 12.

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ORDINANCE No. 4 of 30.06.2026 on the Performance Comparison Indicators for Sub-funds in Universal Pension Funds and Professional Pension Funds Published - State Gazette, No. 63 of 10.07.2026, effective from 01.01.2027 Adopted by Decision No. 283-N of 30.06.2026 of the Commission for Financial Supervision

General Provisions

Art. 1. This Ordinance regulates the procedure and manner for:

  1. determining and calculating the performance comparison indicators for asset management of sub-funds in universal pension funds and professional pension funds;
  2. calculating the performance of asset management of sub-funds in universal pension funds and professional pension funds;
  3. publishing the performance comparison indicators for asset management and the achieved performance of sub-funds in universal pension funds and professional pension funds.

Determination of Performance Comparison Indicators

Art. 2. (1) Each performance comparison indicator for asset management of a dynamic and balanced sub-fund in a universal pension fund and a professional pension fund includes the following components:

  1. S&P Global 1200 EUR Hedged PRI Index (FIGI code: BBG00LTZ8B56);
  2. iBoxx € Eurozone 5-10 TRI Index (FIGI code: BBG000XW7LL5);
  3. iBoxx EUR Liquid Corporates Diversified TRI Index (FIGI code: BBG00NRXXVZ4);
  4. S&P Euro PRI Index (FIGI code: BBG000PMBNB8);
  5. BGBX40 PRI Index (FIGI code: BBG005WQQ8T8);
  6. Cash.

(2) The performance comparison indicator for asset management of a conservative sub-fund in a universal pension fund includes the following components:

  1. S&P Global 1200 EUR Hedged PRI Index (FIGI code: BBG00LTZ8B56);
  2. iBoxx € Eurozone 1-5 TRI Index (FIGI code: BBG000XW7LG1);
  3. iBoxx EUR Liquid Corporates Diversified TRI Index (FIGI code: BBG00NRXXVZ4);
  4. S&P Euro PRI Index (FIGI code: BBG000PMBNB8);
  5. BGBX40 PRI Index (FIGI code: BBG005WQQ8T8);
  6. Cash.

(3) When determining the indicators for sub-funds in the universal pension fund and the professional pension fund, the components under paragraphs 1 and 2 have different relative weights, as follows:

  1. for a dynamic sub-fund in a universal pension fund - according to Annex No. 1;
  2. for a balanced sub-fund in a universal pension fund and for a professional pension fund - according to Annex No. 2;
  3. for a conservative sub-fund in a universal pension fund - according to Annex No. 3.

Determination of Indicator Values for a Quarterly Period

Art. 3. (1) The performance of the indices under Art. 2, para. 1 and 2 for a quarterly period is calculated as the relative change in its value on the working day preceding the last working day of the respective quarter in the country compared to the working day preceding the last working day of the previous quarter in the country. For indices for which quarterly performance data is published and provided by the official data provider, these are used directly in the calculations of the indicators.

(2) The value of the indicators for a quarterly period is calculated separately for each sub-fund in the universal pension fund and for the professional pension fund as a weighted average based on the performance of each component and its relative weight, according to Annexes No. 1 - 3 to Art. 2, para. 3, by the following formula:

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where: Kq is the value of the indicator for a quarterly period, calculated at the end of the quarter; wi - weight of component i according to Annexes No. 1 - 3; Pi,q - value of component i on the working day preceding the last working day of the quarter; Pi,q-1 - value of component i on the working day preceding the last working day of the previous quarter; Pi,q/Pi,q-1 = 1 - value of the cash component; n - number of components according to Annexes No. 1 - 3; i - serial number of the component.

Determination of Indicator Values on an Annual Basis

Art. 4. The value of the indicators on an annual basis for each sub-fund in the universal pension fund and for the professional pension fund is determined at the end of each quarter as a geometric mean, calculated based on the corresponding values of the indicators for the last 20 consecutive quarters, according to the following formula:

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where: Ky is the value of the indicator in percentage on an annual basis at the end of the last quarter; Kq - value of the indicator for a quarterly period, calculated according to Art. 3, para. 2 for the last quarter; Kq-1,… Kq-19 - values of the indicators for the previous quarters.

Determination of Performance of Asset Management of Sub-funds in Universal Pension Funds and Professional Pension Funds for a Five-Year Period

Art. 5. The achieved performance of asset management of a sub-fund in a universal pension fund and a professional pension fund for a five-year period, including the last 20 consecutive quarters, is determined based on the value of one share of the respective sub-fund or fund by the formula:

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where: Rf is the performance of sub-fund or fund f for the five-year period, expressed in percentages; Ub - the value of one share of the sub-fund or fund on the last working day of the five-year period; Ua - the value of one share of the sub-fund or fund on the last working day of the month preceding the five-year period.

Determination of Performance of Asset Management of Sub-funds in Universal Pension Funds and Professional Pension Funds on an Annual Basis

Art. 6. The achieved performance of asset management of a sub-fund in a universal pension fund and a professional pension fund on an annual basis is determined as a geometric mean, calculated based on the performance of the respective sub-fund or fund for a five-year period, according to the following formula:

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where: Ry is the performance of asset management of a sub-fund in a universal pension fund and a professional pension fund on an annual basis, expressed in percentage; Rf - performance, calculated according to Art. 5.

Publication of Performance Comparison Indicators and Achieved Performance of Asset Management of Sub-funds in Universal Pension Funds and Professional Pension Funds

Art. 7. (1) The indicators under Art. 4 and the achieved performance under Art. 6 are determined by the Commission at the end of each quarter. (2) The Commission publishes the information under para. 1 by the end of each month following the reporting quarter.

Additional Provisions

§ 1. For the purposes of this Ordinance:

  1. "Cash" refers to cash balances in settlement accounts.
  2. "Index" means a reference value that is published or provided by a provider according to a specific methodology; the index is determined regularly, wholly or partially by applying a formula or other method of calculation or by valuation, based on the value of one or more underlying assets or prices.
  3. "PRI (Price Return Index)" is a price return index that reflects the change in the market price of the underlying assets.
  4. "TRI (Total Return Index)" is a total return index that reflects both the change in the market price of the underlying assets and the reinvestment of income from them, including interest payments received.
  5. "FIGI code (Financial Instrument Global Identifier)" is a unique alphanumeric identifier used to unambiguously identify financial instruments, indices, or their variants in market data systems.

Final Provisions

§ 2. (1) The first determination of the annual values of the indicators shall be carried out by the end of January 2028 based on data as of the last working day of 2026 and the working day preceding the last working day of 2027. When calculating the values of the indicator for the first quarter of 2027, the formula under Art. 3, para. 2 is used, with the parameter Pi, q-1 being the value of component i as of the last working day of 2026.

(2) Each subsequent determination of the values of the indicators under para. 1 shall be carried out based on accumulated data for each quarter in the period from the last working day of 2026 to the working day preceding the last working day of 2031.

(3) The calculation of the values of the indicators under paras. 1 and 2 is carried out by the following formula:

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where: Ky is the value of the indicator in percentage on an annual basis at the end of the last quarter; Kq - value of the indicator for a quarterly period, calculated at the end of the last quarter; Kq-1,… Kq-s - values of the indicators for the previous quarters from q-1 to q-s; t - number of quarters in the period, where 4≤t≤20; s = t - 1 - the number of quarters preceding the calculation.

§ 3. (1) The first determination of the achieved annual performance of asset management of sub-funds in universal pension funds and professional pension funds shall be carried out by the end of January 2028 based on data for the period from the first working day of 2027 to the last working day of 2027.

(2) Each subsequent determination of the achieved performance under para. 1 shall be carried out based on accumulated data for each quarter in the period from the first working day of 2027 to the last working day of 2031.

(3) The calculation of the achieved performance under paras. 1 and 2 is carried out by sequentially applying the following formulas:

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where: Rf is the performance of sub-fund or fund f for the period from the first working day of 2027 to the end of the respective quarter, expressed in percentages; Ub - value of one share of the sub-fund or fund on the last working day of the respective quarter; Ua - value of one share of the sub-fund or fund on the first working day of 2027,

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where t is determined according to § 2, para. 3.

§ 4. (1) For the first three quarters of 2027, the Commission for Financial Supervision publishes for informational purposes the performance comparison indicators of the achieved performance of asset management of sub-funds in universal pension funds and professional pension funds and the achieved performance of asset management of sub-funds in universal pension funds and professional pension funds.

(2) The calculation of the values of the indicators under para. 1 is carried out as follows:

  1. for the first and each subsequent quarter - using the formula under Art. 3, para. 2, with the parameter Pi, q-1 being the value of component i as of the last working day of 2026 when calculating the values of the indicators for the first quarter of 2027;
  2. for the period ending at the end of the second quarter of 2027 - based on accumulated data by the following formula:

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where: K2 is the value of the indicator in percentage for the period up to the end of the second quarter of 2027; Kq1 - value of the indicator for the first quarter of 2027; Kq2 - value of the indicator for the second quarter of 2027; 3. for the period ending at the end of the third quarter of 2027 - based on accumulated data for the first, second, and third quarters by the following formula:

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where: K3 is the value of the indicator in percentage for the period up to the end of the third quarter of 2027; Kq1 - value of the indicator for the first quarter of 2027; Kq2 - value of the indicator for the second quarter of 2027; Kq3 - value of the indicator for the third quarter of 2027.

(3) The calculation of the achieved performance of asset management of sub-funds in universal pension funds and professional pension funds for the first three quarters of 2027 is carried out by the following formula:

[Formula Image/Placeholder]

where: Rf is the performance of sub-fund or fund f for the period from the first working day of 2027 to the end of the respective quarter, expressed in percentages; Ub - the value of one share of the sub-fund or fund on the last working day of the respective quarter; Ua - the value of one share of the sub-fund or fund on the first working day of 2027.

§ 5. Ordinance No. 12 of 10.12.2003 on the manner and procedure for determining the minimum performance of asset management of funds for additional mandatory pension insurance, for covering the difference to the minimum performance, and for forming and using the reserves for guaranteeing the minimum performance (published, State Gazette, No. 110 of 2003; corrected, No. 1 of 2004; amended and supplemented, No. 17 of 2004; No. 29 of 2005, No. 57 of 2007, No. 50 of 2018, No. 52 of 2021, No. 64 of 2022, and No. 20 of 2025) is repealed.

§ 6. This Ordinance enters into force on 1.01.2027.

§ 7. This Ordinance is issued on the basis of Art. 137, para. 14 and Art. 140, para. 5 of the Social Security Code in connection with § 192 of the transitional and final provisions of the Law on Amendment and Supplement to the Social Security Code (State Gazette, No. 27 of 2026) and is adopted by Decision No. 283-N of 30 June 2026 of the Commission for Financial Supervision.

Chairman: Vasil Golemanski

Annex No. 1 to Art. 2, para. 3, item 1 Components and weights for determining the performance comparison indicator for the management of a dynamic sub-fund in a universal pension fund

No. Components Weight Description

  1. S&P Global 1200 EUR Hedged PRI 25 % Global equities, hedged in EUR
  2. iBoxx € Eurozone 5-10 TRI 15 % Government bonds with maturity 5 – 10 y.
  3. iBoxx EUR Liquid Corporates Diversified TRI 5 % Corporate bonds in EUR
  4. S&P Euro PRI 30 % Shares of companies in the eurozone
  5. BGBX40 PRI 20 % Shares of Bulgarian companies
  6. Cash 5 % TOTAL 100 %

Annex No. 2 to Art. 2, para. 3, item 2 Components and weights for determining the performance comparison indicator for the management of a balanced sub-fund in a universal pension fund and for a professional pension fund

No. Components Weight Description

  1. S&P Global 1200 EUR Hedged PRI 15 % Global equities, hedged in EUR
  2. iBoxx € Eurozone 5-10 TRI 50 % Government bonds with maturity 5 – 10 y.
  3. iBoxx EUR Liquid Corporates Diversified TRI 5 % Corporate bonds in EUR
  4. S&P Euro PRI 10 % Shares of companies in the eurozone
  5. BGBX40 PRI 15 % Shares of Bulgarian companies
  6. Cash 5 % TOTAL 100 %

Annex No. 3 to Art. 2, para. 3, item 3 Components and weights for determining the performance comparison indicator for the management of a conservative sub-fund in a universal pension fund

No. Components Weight Description

  1. S&P Global 1200 EUR Hedged PRI 2 % Global equities, hedged in EUR
  2. iBoxx € Eurozone 1-5 TRI 65 % Government bonds with maturity 1 – 5 y.
  3. iBoxx EUR Liquid Corporates Diversified TRI 10 % Corporate bonds in EUR
  4. S&P Euro PRI 3 % Shares of companies in the eurozone
  5. BGBX40 PRI 10 % Shares of Bulgarian companies
  6. Cash 10 % TOTAL 100 %