Priorities for Developing the Ukrainian Stock Market in the Context of Managing the Population’s Pension Assets

The second and third tiers of the pension system provide a significant accumulation of financial resources, which are stored for an extended period in the pension accounts of its participants. The long-term use of pension assets requires their protection from various financial risks, as well as the possibility of using them in investment activities on the stock market. The article aims to analyze the legal basis for the functioning and outline the priority areas of development of the stock market in Ukraine, determine its role in protecting the pension assets of the funded pension system, and review the main financial instruments used to manage pension assets. Since the primary function of the stock market is to redistribute investment resources and ensure production financing, its development should be focused on supporting the effective functioning of the funded pension system and guaranteeing reliable protection of the pension assets of its participants. However, today, the Ukrainian stock market does not yet fully meet the requirements that mandatory state-funded pension programs may impose. In particular, the stock market offers a limited number of reliable financial instruments for investing the assets of funded pension programs. Specialized financial institutions that will be engaged in investing the financial resources of the second tier of the pension system remain underdeveloped. The article examines the main instruments of the stock market used to manage pension assets. The traditional investment strategy for a pension fund is to allocate its assets between bonds, stocks and real estate. The new trend is to invest money in alternative investments for higher returns and greater diversification. It was revealed that in the conditions of Ukrainian realities, an urgent issue remains increasing public confidence in the stock market, the low level of which is one of the main barriers to developing pension investments. In addition, one of the priorities for further developing the stock market in Ukraine is creating a stable and transparent regulatory framework and introducing an effective fiscal mechanism for regulating investment activity.