BPI sees managed funds tripling to P3 trillion

MANILA, Philippines — Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is aiming to almost triple its assets under management (AUM) to P3 trillion over the next five years from the current P1.3 trillion.

BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. president and CEO Therese Marcial said in an interview with reporters that  the bulk or 75 percent of the AUM are invested in fixed-income and the balance of 25 percent are in equities.

“We want to get P3 trillion in five years from now or in 2026. We’re really aiming for something what we call big bold targets. To get there we have big bold moves,” Marcial said.

BPI AMTC accounts for about P900 billion of the total AUM and other subsidiaries including BPI Investment Management Inc. (BIMI) account for the remaining P400 billion.

Marcial said the Ayala-led bank aims to grow its account base to about one million from the current 300,000.

“I think we have over 300,000 investors, but we have big dreams. Like initially we want to reach one million customers availing asset and wealth management products,” Marcial added.

BPI, on the other hand, wants to grow its customer base by four to five times from the current base of nine million.

“In the bank we have more ambitious goals. Right now we have close to nine million customers and I think the bank is really looking at four to five times in terms of number of customers.

She said the company would further democratize to encourage more Filipinos to invest.

Marcial said the bank would soon allow investors to open investment accounts through digital channels.

“The whole financial inclusion is also anchored on digital. We need to be able to offer a platform that will allow them to access us easily, digitally, and that’s the way to grow the number of investors,” she said.

According to Marcial, investors are bullish despite uncertainties in the financial markets brought about by the   rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve as well as the tightening cycle by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The BSP has so far raised interest rates by 175 basis points to 3.25 percent   this year, from an all-time low of two percent, to anchor inflationary expectations.

The Philippines booked a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.8 percent in the first half  despite the disappointing 7.4-percent expansion in the second quarter from 8.2 percent in the first quarter.