Chile's AFP multifunds lost US$25 billion in March, dropping from US$260.569 million at end-February to US$235.801 million, a 9.5% decline tied to the Middle East war and peso depreciation.
The Middle East conflict, starting February 28, 2026, with US and Israel attacks on Iran, created global market volatility impacting Chile's pension funds. The AFP Association states the dollar-denominated drop was 80% due to the exchange rate rising from $861.19 to $931.57, and 20% from negative returns. In UF, the decline was 2.2%, from 5,639.61 million to 5,513.46 million.
The Superintendencia de Pensiones reported all funds closed negative in March owing to uncertainty over oil industry effects, higher energy costs, and inflation. Funds A and C saw the largest real losses at 3.02% and 2.52%, followed by B (2.45%), D (2.07%), and E (0.86%).
Economists Soledad Hormazábal and Cecilia Cifuentes agree the exchange rate effect dominated. Roberto Fuentes of the AFP Association noted funds were 66% of GDP end-February, falling to 64.6% in March, still below the pre-withdrawal peak of 83.2% in January 2020.
