Sun Life AUM reaches P46.5 B in end-June

MANILA, Philippines - Assets under management (AUM) of Sun Life Asset Management Co. Inc. (SLAMCI) grew slightly in the first semester from a year ago.

Total AUM reached P46.5 billion as of the first semester this year, up from P46.44 billion in the same period last year.

Contributing to the latest result was the Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund, which remains among the largest in the market, with net assets worth over P16 billion.

The Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund is a balanced mutual fund or a fund invested in a mix of equity and fixed income instruments.

The performance of the Sun Life Prosperity Equity Fund which posted a 102.58-percent five-year return and a 30.06 percent three-year return, and the Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund, with a five-year return of 30.50 percent and a 12.5-percent three-year return also contributed to the healthy AUM in the first-half.

SLAMCI’s newest fund, the Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund which debuted strongly, likewise helped drive the growth in AUM.

Only two months after its launch last May, the fund already posted an AUM of P541 million and gross sales of P554 million.

SLAMCI president Valerie Pama said investing is meant to be for the long-term.

“Clients who have stayed committed to their investments are now reaping its rewards,” Pama said.

As of end-June, the country’s mutual fund industry’s AUM is estimated to have breached P250 billion.

For July, initial feedback indicates that investors are slowly returning to the equity and equity-laced mutual funds in preparation for the forecast surge in the latter part of the second semester.

Pama, who is also the president of the Philippine Investment Fund Association said the outlook for the rest of the year remains bright.

“The outlook is also positive with the coming elections,” she said, adding that studies have shown that the equity market surges some 40 percent a year before the actual elections.