THE National Insurance Fund’s (NIF) investment in TransJamaican Highway (TJH) Limited generated approximately $2.06 billion in unrealised gains during the first quarter, cushioning declines across most of its publicly known equity portfolio.

TJH’s stock price increased 50.54 per cent during Q1 to become the NIF’s largest publicly traded equity position with a value of $6.13 billion. That equity position has returned a combined $296.71 million in dividends since April 2025.

The investment vehicle became TJH’s largest shareholder after spending $2.12 billion at $3.60 per share in April 2025. That increased its position to 7.06 per cent of the highway company.

The NIF’s publicly known investment portfolio saw nine stocks advance, 12 retreat and one hold firm in what was a difficult first quarter. The publicly disclosed portfolio recorded $3.15 billion in unrealised gains during the quarter. Separately, the NIF had projected $7.03 billion in unrealised investment gains for the full financial year (FY) ending March 2026. The publicly known portfolio was worth $47.78 billion across 22 equity positions.

Wisynco Group Limited, Carreras Limited, NCB Financial Group Limited, Kingston Properties Limited and Sagicor Group Limited were the other large positions which delivered at least $120 million in gains in the first quarter.

JMMB Group Limited, Jamaica Broilers Group Limited, Scotia Group Jamaica Limited, Barita Investments Limited and GraceKennedy Limited were the largest decliners for the fund during the first quarter.

The NIF’s equity investments returned $1.34 billion in dividends during the March 2025 FY with the fund projecting that it received $2.92 billion for the recent March 2026 FY.

The NIF acts as the investment vehicle for contributions received from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). While the NIF reported $15.21 billion in total income for the March 2025 FY, the exclusion of unrealised gains left it with $13.07 billion in cash income which was mainly derived from interest.

An analysis of the public bodies budget revealed that the NIS paid $31.91 billion in pension benefits and $883.13 million for the NIS health scheme. After accounting for the allocation to the National Health Fund and administrative expenses to administer the NIS, the NIF received $17.84 billion to support its investment mandate. The figures suggest that current NIS contributions remain the primary source of funding for benefit payments, while investment income and transfers to the NIF support the scheme’s longer-term sustainability.

“The fund intends to increase its net assets during the 2026/27 financial year through the prudent management of the investment portfolio. This will be achieved through participation in investment opportunities that maximise growth potential and dividend yields on investments in the financial markets thus ensuring the adequacy of funds to ensure the continued allocation of payments to the NIS as required,” the public bodies budget stated.

The NIF’s planned strategies include strengthening its corporate governance and investment policy frameworks and further diversifying the portfolio to manage risk and returns.

Scotia Group Jamaica announced that its direct parent intended to acquire the remaining 28.22 per cent of the company at $61.50 per share and take it private. The NIF is currently the third largest SGJ shareholder which means that the NIF would receive $3.75 billion in proceeds should the transaction be approved by most shareholders.

Since the end of the quarter, several major holdings have appreciated further. At Monday’s closing prices, the NIF’s TJH stake was worth approximately $7.81 billion, while its NCB Financial Group and Carreras holdings were valued at about $6.90 billion and $6.28 billion, respectively.

A successful Scotia Group acquisition would also reshape the portfolio by converting one of the NIF’s largest listed positions into approximately $3.75 billion in cash. The effect on dividend income, reinvestment strategy, and the fund’s projected $7.03 billion in unrealised gains for the March 2027 financial year will depend on whether the transaction is completed and how the proceeds are redeployed.