EPFO to appoint new partner agencies, change custodian after 15 years

Retirement fund body EPFO is preparing to empanel new partner agencies and appoint a fresh custodian, as it revamps investment, audit and management arrangements

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is in the process of appointing new partner agencies as the retirement fund manager looks to empanel a new custodian after nearly 15 years, according to sources aware of the development.

 

Presently, Standard Chartered Bank is the custodian of the EPFO, operating as the agency that holds and safeguards the social security organisation’s ₹31 trillion corpus. It was appointed in November 2011, and the plan to appoint a new custodian has been hanging fire for nearly five years. After revoking the selection of Citibank in 2023, the EPFO’s investment committee (IC) made a call in 2024 to not simultaneously run the process of appointing a new custodian as well as new portfolio managers, said the sources. 

 

 

In October last year, the EPFO approved the appointment of HDFC Asset Management Company and Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, along with the reappointment of its existing portfolio managers – SBI Fund Management and UTI Asset Management Company. 

 

Following this, the IC decided to issue a request for proposal (RFP) or a formal tender, inviting bids from eligible companies. At the same time, the committee is also finalising an RFP for the appointment of its external concurrent auditor (ECA), which audits the investment activity of the EPFO. 

 

The tenure of Choksi & Choksi LLP as ECA, which expired on January 31, has been extended until December 31 this year, unless a new ECA is appointed before that. For the appointment process, the committee decided that the draft RFP be vetted by an expert agency to ensure regulatory compliance and compatibility with best market practices. 

 

An email sent to the EPFO did not elicit a response till press time. 

 

As on December 31, 2025, the EPFO’s debt investments constituted over 89 per cent of its overall portfolio, while its equity investments accounted for 10.57 per cent. The portfolio managers of the EPFO handle its debt investments, while the asset management companies (AMCs) manage its equity investments. 

 

The tenure of the presently appointed AMCs -- ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company, SBI Funds Management, Nippon Life India Asset Management, and UTI Asset Management Company -- is also set to end on July 2. The EPFO has initiated the process to appoint new AMCs. 

 

Apart from portfolio managers, the custodian, AMCs, and the ECA, the EPFO has one more external partner agency -- its consultant. The Central Board of Trustees had appointed Crisil as consultant for the selection of portfolio managers, the custodian, and the ECA, and for performance evaluation of portfolio managers, in August 2014. Crisil’s term was extended in February last year for three years. 

Change in the offing

 

> At present, Standard Chartered Bank is the custodian of EPFO; safeguards its ₹31 trillion corpus

> RFP being finalised for the appointment of External Concurrent Auditor for EPFO

 

EPFO portfolio as on Dec 31, 2025

 

> 89.36% Debt investments

> 10.57% Equity investments