PhilEquity Fund outperforms leaders

Philequity Fund recorded an average annual return of 18.1 percent in a 10-year span, which is considered among the best for a mutual fund in the Philippine market.

Globally, it is ranked among the best including the Vanguard Health Care, Fidelity New Millenium, Legg Mason Value Prim, Mairs & Power Growth, and Eaton Vance Worldwide Health.

For the first six months of 2003, it registered a return of 18.3 percent versus an industry average of 5.7 percent although the Philippine Stock Exchange index (Phisix) did slightly better by 18.3 percent.

In the same period, net assets reached P193 million which was second best among the equity funds.

A top official of the Philequity Management Inc., the fund manager of the mutual fund, said that individual and institutional investors should start making investments in the equities market.

"We have seen the stock market hit bottom at least twice, and it is going nowhere but up," said Philequity president Ignacio B. Jimenez. He predicts that investments made this year in the equities market through a mutual fund could outdo or equal investments made in the last 10 years.

A one peso investment made with Philequity in 1994 would be equivalent to P4.41 today. But Philequity forecasts that investments made this year could at least equal that 10 year performance.

"When the market crashes by 20 percent, our losses is five percent. But when it grows by 10 percent, Philequity managed funds could grow by 15 percent," Jimenez claimed.

Other than investments placed in the equity markets, Philequity placed this year at least 20 percent of the funds in low risk albeit lower yielding instruments like bonds.

The Philequity management said it established more funds in the US dollar bond, money market and index fund markets.

The Philequity Fund board members are composed of Gregorio T. Yu (chairman), Violeta P. Luym (treasurer), Vicente R. Jayme, Margarito B. Teves, Felipe U. Yap and Enrique P. Esteban, as directors.

"We have already filed our applications with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the three new products. We are also considering listing some if not all three funds in the secondary market," Jimenez said.

That will place the Philequity group in the same grouping as three other fund managers that have more than one type of funds being managed. – TPT