FMIC plans to set up Exchange Traded Fund

MANILA, Philippines - First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), the investment arm of the Metrobank group, will set up an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) with an initial seed capital of P250 million.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), FMIC said its board approved in a meeting held Nov. 29 the creation of the ETF subject to regulatory approvals.

The board has also appointed First Metro Asset Management Inc. to be the fund manager of the ETF.

In October this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had issued the rules for the ETF.

Aside from FMIC, it was learned that BDO Unibank Inc. of the Sy Group and Ayala-owned Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) are also likely to form their respective ETF.

ETF is defined as a security that monitors the index, a commodity of assets like an index fund, but trades like a normal stock in an exchange. It experiences price changes throughout the day as they are bought and sold.

The creation of an ETF would allow investors to have more investment options aside from the existing stocks in the market.

FMIC, formed in 1972, has been allowed to perform quasi-banking functions in 1974.

Recently, it also secured approval from the SEC to extend its corporate term till 2063 from its original term ending June 25, 2013.

In 2000, Metrobank bought a majority stake in Solidbank and merged it with FMIC which was able to retain its quasi-banking license.

After the merger, FMIC became the first and only publicly listed investment bank in the Philippine Stock Exchange.

It also became a government securities eligible dealer (GSED) licensed by the Bureau of Treasury.