[01] Manfred Rii Zamuee, The Research Department, Maastricht School of Management (MSM), Maastricht, Netherlands.

Pension funds are a major driver of GDP for many countries including Namibia and have given rise to the establishment of stock markets and the asset management industry. Therefore, it has become imperative for pension funds to be efficient in the manner in which they are managed. While previous studies have addressed the issue of efficiency in many disciplines, not much literature could be found on the analysis of efficiency of pension funds in general and Namibia in particular. The study attempts to demonstrate the Namibian experience in terms of the levels of efficiency of pension funds. The financial efficiency of pension funds was measured with the aid of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) using various inputs and outputs. On the other hand, operational efficiency was measured using various latent constructs. Therefore, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) form the theoretical basis to validate and operationalize the variables in the model. The study uses questionnaire based survey conducted among members of the board of trustees of approximately 180 pension funds in Namibia, representing about 60% of the Namibian pension fund industry. The results of the study indicates the importance of efficiency in the management of pensions funds in Namibia and aims to contribute to the current literature on the use of SEM, CFA and DEA as more reliable tools to measure pension fund efficiency.

Financial Efficiency, Operational Efficiency, Structural Equation Modelling, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Investments, Governance, Benefit Design

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