Filipino Fund spins off new unit to hold its assets

Filipino Fund Inc., a closed-end investment company partly owned by the Ayalas, has spun off a new company that will hold its assets, including its stock investments, as part of its quasi-reorganization plan.

The quasi-reorganization plan entails the unbundling of Filipino Fund’s assets and lodging of its listed equities and other income under a new company named Philippine Index Fund (PIF).

It also involves the reduction of Filipino Fund’s authorized capital stock and the return of capital to shareholders of Filipino Fund in the form of PIF shares.

Aside from Filipino Fund, the other shareholders of PIF include Bernardo Villegas, Ariston Estrada, Manuel Bengson, Isagani De Castro and Francis Luna.

PIF was organized to engage in the sale of its shares of stock and in the investment of the proceeds of these sales into a basket of stocks that is included in the Philippine Composite Index or the Phisix.

As an index fund, PIF’s investment shall be directly dictated by the underlying shares and their respective weights in the benchmark index.

All the proceeds from the sale of securities including the original subscription payments at the time of incorporation, constituting the paid-in capital of the Fund shall be held by the Land Bank of the Philippines, the fund’s custodian bank.

PIF has applied for registration of P500 million worth of shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares will be offered on the fund’s net asset value per share.