Análise da forma de atuação dos fundos de pensão brasileiros: condicionantes institucionais

Abstract

This paper deals with the possibility that Brazilian pension funds play an important role in financing investment, if they act on the funding side. The objective is to study the recent behavior of these funds in Brazil to verify what has been the logic of the application of their resources in the country. The characterization of the form of action taken by these funds in different countries leads us to the perception that, depending on internal institutional specificities, in some markets there is a greater participation of these funds in direct long-term financing, whereas in others these institutions concentrate their operations with a short term bias. We follow the theoretical hypothesis that the performance of these agents, in addition to the regulation to which they are subject, depends on the corporate governance structures of their home markets and the markets in which they operate. In order to develop these issues, the main aspects concerning the shaping of corporate governance structures and the role of pension funds in capital markets in general were addressed. In the case of Brazil, the basic design of the domestic capital market was indicated and, at the same time, the scope of action of the different types of agents and the basic form of operation of national pension funds. We surveyed the main applications of Brazilian pension funds in the 1990s, highlighting the way these agents operate in the domestic capital market and, in addition to the analysis that aggregates pension funds together, a comparative examination of Previ, Sistel and Petros. We note that the way in which national pension funds operate has not been to work with longer-term horizons and to contribute to the financing of investments. Our conclusion is that the action of national pension funds towards long-term behavior requires more active participation by the Public Sector and more directional regulation, as well as the creation of roles linked to a specific public policy.