Four State-Owned Asset Management Firms Merged: Efficiency or New Risk?

The restructuring of state-owned enterprises (BUMN) continues, with four state-owned asset management firms now being merged. Without transparency, accountability, and professional working practices, the merger could create new problems.

The four merged asset management BUMNs are PNM Investment Management, BNI Asset Management, Mandiri Manajemen Investasi, and BRI Manajemen Investasi. This merger means the portfolios of the four state-owned asset managers are consolidated under Mandiri Manajemen Investasi as the surviving entity.

The merger was decided in a meeting attended by Minister of Investment and Downstreaming and CEO of Danantara, Rosan P Roeslani, Head of the BUMN Regulatory Body, Dony Oskaria, and CIO of Danantara, Pandu Sjahrir, on Tuesday (7/7/2026).

Beyond portfolio consolidation, there is an expectation of strengthened governance capabilities and a more efficient and professional asset management platform.

“Streamlining is not the end goal. The most important thing is how the restructured BUMN assets can be managed more optimally, more productively, and truly create added value for the country,” Dony said in an official statement.

This merger is part of the BUMN restructuring carried out throughout 2026. From over a thousand BUMNs, the consolidation of similar businesses aims to reduce the total number of BUMNs to no more than 300 companies by the end of 2026.

Dony, after reporting to President Prabowo Subianto at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on 7 April 2026, emphasised that the BUMN restructuring must be completed in 2026. “Not just on time, but also fundamentally complete,” he told reporters.

Dony also explained the rationale behind Danantara Asset Management taking over the BUMN asset managers. “This is in the context of uniting four asset management firms whose scale is not yet competitive; we merge them into one so they can become competitive,” he said.

Economist and public policy expert from UPN Veteran Jakarta, Achmad Nur Hidayat, assessed that the merger of the four state-owned investment management firms is not just an ordinary corporate action, but one that concerns public trust, the safety of investor funds, and how the state manages financial assets.

He questioned whether this consolidation would improve governance or merely enlarge a single basket containing old risks. Circulating data shows that the total funds managed by the four BUMNs as of February 2026 reached Rp 132 trillion.

This amount consists of BRI Manajemen Investasi at Rp 49.79 trillion, Mandiri Manajemen Investasi at Rp 44.83 trillion, BNI Asset Management at Rp 32.65 trillion, and PNM Investment Management at Rp 4.82 trillion. This value is equivalent to 18.41 per cent of the total funds managed by the entire domestic industry currently.

However, BUMN mergers are often not accompanied by clear and transparent measures of success. “Have costs truly decreased? Has product performance improved? Are portfolio risks more controlled? Are investors better protected? Without measurable answers, the merger is merely an institutional narrative,” Achmad said.

The problem, Achmad continued, is that the market situation is also not easy. As of 30 June 2026, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) recorded that the investment management industry’s assets under management reached Rp 1,011.81 trillion, a monthly decline of 3.14 per cent. The net asset value of mutual funds was Rp 652.90 trillion, down 4.79 per cent, with net redemptions of Rp 23.75 trillion.

At the same time, the number of capital market investors reached 28.96 million. This means that while the number of investors is growing, pressure on trust and liquidity remains real. Therefore, the merger of the four state-owned asset managers must be strictly supervised.

“The new entity must not become a place to hide problematic portfolios. There must be an independent audit of asset quality, mutual fund products, debt securities exposure, affiliated transactions, and potential conflicts of interest. Because if bad portfolios are simply moved to a new structure, what occurs is not transformation, but risk obfuscation,” he said.

Furthermore, according to Achmad, prudence in managing investor funds and loyalty to the best interests of the company in fiduciary duty must be truly upheld. Investor funds must be managed under this principle, as they are not free funds that can be directed for the interests of shareholders, BUMN projects, or political agendas.

The issue is that, being within the state ecosystem, the risk of conflicts of interest is even greater. He cautioned that the BUMN investment manager should not turn into a captive buyer for state or BUMN instruments that are not fully viable in terms of risk.

To this end, supervision of asset valuation, liquidity, portfolio concentration, and information disclosure must be tightened. “Danantara is also obliged to unveil the post-merger roadmap: efficiency targets, risk system integration, restrictions on affiliated transactions, an independent investment committee, and periodic performance reports,” he said.

Transparency and accountability are key to the merger’s success. He stressed that the measure of success is not merely the size of managed funds, but whether the new entity is more transparent, accountable, professional, and loyal to the public interest.

Director of NEXT Indonesia Center, Herry Gunawan, assessed that BNI Asset Management, BRI Manajemen Investasi, and Mandiri Manajemen Investasi share similar characteristics, so their merger could potentially improve efficiency. However, he highlighted that PNM Investment Management has a very different character.

“PNM is a different entity, more focused on public services. When it was established, it focused on women and micro-businesses through the Mekaar and Ulamm programmes, similar to Grameen Bank,” he said.

Herry argued that PNM is not suitable for the merger and even poses a high risk. PNM could lose its identity.