(Yicai Global) Sept. 11 -- China's state-level social security fund yielded a 14.1-percent return on investment last year, a little less than expected.

The National Social Security Fund had assets totaling CNY2.63 trillion (USD384.8 billion) as of Dec. 31, a gain of CNY291.7 billion (USD42.7 billion) in the 12 months, the National Council for Social Security Fund said in an annual report published today. The fund lost 2.3 percent in 2018.

Chen Wenhui, vice chairman of the council that manages the fund, had on Jan. 11 predicted an ROI of 15.5 percent for 2019, representing a gain of more than CNY300 billion.

Over the two decades since it was formed in 2000, the fund's average annual ROI was 8.1 percent, earning CNY1.25 trillion (USD182.3 billion) to provide for the needs of the country’s aging population.

At the end of last year, some 90 percent of the assets were domestic and about 40 percent of the holdings were directly owned by the state's investment vehicle.

Editor: Emmi Laine