Equitable PCI Bank trust group says it’s time to invest

The outlook for the economy is healthy and despite the early onset of a particularly intense political season, or even because of it, conditions for investing could be better than usual, one of the top fund management groups in the country said yesterday.

Equitable PCI Bank’s Trust Banking Group said it expects a global rebound next year to provide lift to the lumbering economy and is priming potential investors in its high-yielding trust funds on how to take advantage of opportunities.

In roadshows it is conducting countrywide, the group has been counseling investors to discount the political volatility that has arrived ahead of season and instead focus on the positive factors that underpin the economy’s resiliency such as low interest rates, benign inflation, and a nascent US recovery.

Marvin V. Fausto, head of Equitable PCI Bank Trust Banking, said that "given sound fundamentals and a sanguine global backdrop, the economy should remain on a growth track, notwithstanding some political turbulence. If there is market weakness towards the 2004 presidential polls, such as we have seen in the past, that could well be a good buying window for investors."

Equitable PCI Bank’s Trust Banking Group has paced the banking industry last year with a stellar 73-percent growth in trust assets under management, and one that has recorded a total volume P77 billion over the first eight months this year.

In the Watson Wyatt survey for the first quarter this year, Equitable PCI Bank was again ranked No. 1 in the more important category of banks handling at least five investment funds on a full discretion basis.

Equitable PCI Bank has consistently outperformed industry benchmarks such as the 91-day T-bill rate and the Phisix on an annual basis, delivering an average of 10- to 12-percent net return for peso assets amid relatively low interest rates. Said Fausto: "Our business is the management of risk. And we do it quite well."

In recent years, Equitable PCIBank enhanced its offering of personal trust products with the creation, for instance, of the long-term EPIC Coral Fund and EPIC Jade Fund. These vehicles allow investors to avail themselves of exemption from the usual 20-percent final tax on investment income. The funds generated such a strong response that these had to be closed briefly to new contributions last year.

Responding to the market’s need for affordable long-term products, Equitable PCI Bank launched this year the third member of the EPIC family of funds – the EPIC Ivory Fund.

It is an innovative product that lets investors build up both income and capital on a long-term perspective while retaining the flexibility to withdraw contributions for unforeseen needs. The minimum investment is a low P100,000.

The continuing strong growth of Equitable PCI Bank Trust Banking manifests not just its outstanding performance but also its success in developing new investment vehicles for the burgeoning ranks of individual investors.

Equitable PCI Bank is celebrating its 53rd anniversary this September. It is presently the country’s third largest bank, enjoying leadership in corporate and commercial banking, credit and payment cards, remittances, leasing, and investment banking. It has over 400 branches and more than 400 FASTeller ATMs nationwide, with access to 4,000 BancNet, MegaLink, and ExpressNet ATMs. With its continued growth and strong bank franchise, Equitable PCI Bank is moving forward and fully committed to be the people’s Bank of Choice.