Tuleva is a mutual asset management company with the goal to grow our members’ assets, creating better investment opportunities for ourselves to save money in small increments over the long term.

Our first step was launching low-cost pillar II index funds, followed by a pillar III fund. Now we’re working on a simple investment solution outside the pension system, so that more people in Estonia can grow their capital effectively for the future.

At the same time, we help to improve Estonian laws so that the Estonian pension system as a whole becomes more profitable for people saving for their retirement not for banks or insurance companies.

A mutual is a type of business owned and governed by its members. Unlike a public company, where voting rights depend on the number of shares owned, every member in a mutual has one vote. Membership can’t be traded, and no one can take control by buying up ownership stakes.

Profits are distributed based on each member’s contribution to the mutual’s activities – not on how many shares someone holds.

Tuleva’s founders believed this model is the best fit for a company that brings many people together. We don’t have outside investors – we grow our wealth together. And every member has a say in how our assets are managed, regardless of income or how much they’ve managed to save so far.

Tuleva was founded on a simple idea: people saving and investing together for their future, cutting out unnecessary middlemen and extra costs. Thanks to modern technology, the more of us there are, the more efficiently we can invest together.

1. By becoming a Tuleva member, you support our shared goals:

In addition to launching a low-cost pillar II fund, we’ve built our own better pillar III fund – now the largest in Estonia. Next, we’re working on an additional savings product outside the pension system, so that we can save even more for our future, alongside tax-advantaged pension funds.

We’re also fighting to make Estonia’s pension system work better for us – the people – not for banks and insurance companies. We work together with the Ministry of Finance and the Parliament’s Finance Committee to help shape better laws.

2. Members receive a share of the value we create.

Each year, we calculate a membership bonus for all members who have transferred their pillar II and pillar III assets to Tuleva funds. The bonus is added to your personal capital account in Tuleva. That increases your share in Tuleva’s equity – and that share earns a return over time.

As Tuleva grows, our funds attract more assets, and we create new saving products, the cooperative earns a profit. That profit is shared among members, as agreed in our bylaws. Like any business, the outcome depends on how well we perform. Tuleva’s founders are convinced that the €100 joining fee will pay for itself many times over – though we don’t make promises.

Every member of the Association has the right to:

• examine Tuleva’s articles of association and other key documents, and receive information about the Association’s performance and future plans;

• participate in the general meeting and other events organised by Tuleva;

• elect and be elected to the management and supervisory bodies of Tuleva;

• take part in the distribution of profits in accordance with the articles of association;

• use Tuleva’s services and engage in member communication channels (such as email updates and the members-only Facebook group);

• withdraw from the Association (after five years of membership);

• transfer their accumulated capital in the Association to their heirs in the event of death.

A Tuleva member undertakes to:

• comply with applicable laws, and with the lawful decisions of the Association’s management and supervisory bodies in accordance with the articles of association;

• pay a one-time joining fee;

• protect Tuleva’s business secrets;

• make other dedicated payments as decided by the general meeting.*

* This option exists as a precaution for unexpected capital needs. If such a decision is made by the general meeting and a member refuses to make the required contribution, they will simply be removed from the Association.

The members – or owners – of Tuleva Commercial Association are the pension savers themselves. Members elect the Supervisory Board, which in turn appoints the Management Board. Each Tuleva member has one vote at the general meeting of the Association.

Tuleva also has one subsidiary – a public limited company called Tuleva Fondid, which manages our pension funds.

If a member wishes to leave the association, then the membership bonus and capital will be paid out to them.

At this moment in time, Estonian laws do not allow commercial associations to manage investment funds (there is no real justification for this limit). Therefore we founded Tuleva Fondid AS, which is 100% owned by Tuleva Commercial Association. Based on Financial Inspection’s licence, Tuleva Fondid AS manages Tuleva World Stocks Pension Fund and Tuleva World Bonds Pension Fund.

You do not have to be a member of Tuleva to invest in Tuleva pension funds, but as a member you gain maximum benefit from Tuleva. As a member you are not only the client of your own pension fund, but also a co-owner.

We, members of Tuleva:

• Earn a membership bonus every year from the fund management fee, which earns us extra money for our retirement
• Help to change Estonian laws and regulations so that they benefit pension savers, not only banks and insurance companies
• Decide over future developments in Tuleva: every member has one vote

Membership fees are used to develop our association and to stand up for the rights of our members. From the fees paid by our first members, we made the necessary expenses to raise the fund’s initial capital, introduce Tuleva to the general public and prepare everything to get our pension fund started, including applying for an activity license from the Financial Inspection. From here on, membership fees will be used for the following activities:

• Membership community management and communication
• Development of Tuleva’s web page, blog and other information channels
• Preparation of ideas and influence analysis to improve the Estonian pension system in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and other state organisations
• Development of Tuleva’s IT systems
• Preparation and analysis of voluntary savings products and third pillar options