Sun Life AUMs reach P14.9 billion

MANILA, Philippines - Sun Life Asset Management Co. Inc. (SLAMC) said its assets under management (AUM) reached P14.91 billion as of end-November this year.

SLAMC is the fund manager of Sun Life Financial-Philippines, handling seven mutual funds and is considered one of the leading asset managers in the country’s mutual fund industry.

SLAMC chief operating officer Ben Thomas P. Pañares explained that the total AUMs was already beyond the P15-billion level until one of their major clients made a huge redemption. Redemption or withdrawal of an investment is part of the daily operations of a mutual fund.

The SLAMC executive said the performance of the mutual funds in 2009 has improved considerably compared to the 2008 performance.

“However, we still have to regain the levels achieved in 2007,” he added. Total AUM managed by SLAMC in 2007 stood at P18.2 billion, while the total AUMs of the mutual fund industry was at P86 billion.

The year 2008 ended with most mutual funds experiencing severe declines in value, wiping out gains earned in 2007. Even supposedly low-risk investments such as bond or money market funds suffered from the economic crunch that hit global markets last year.

Known as the Sun Life Prosperity (SLP) series, these are invested in the bond or fixed income market, the equities or stock market, a balanced or mix between equities and fixed income, money market fund, two types of US dollar funds, and another fund dedicated to government securities (GS).

The biggest fund is the balanced fund amounting to P7.67 billion, followed by the Philippine Equity Fund with P2.97 billion.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has been drawing both domestic and foreign funds, much like the rest of the region’s bourses. Foreign equity funds has found the Asian markets more profitable and steady compared to counterparts in the US and Europe.

Meanwhile, the bond or fixed income fund managed to reach P2.64 billion despite the poor performance of the domestic bond market due to low interest rates. That is reflected by the GS Fund, which recorded AUMs amounting to P187.8 million.