PAMI-managed assets near P19B

Mutual funds managed by the Philam Asset Management Inc. (PAMI) has reached a combined P18.719 billion by the end of October.

"Our target of P19 billion in managed assets is within range," Karen Liza M. Roa, PAMI president and chief executive officer, said.

Roa likewise revealed that they have two more products in the pipeline pending approval by the regulators. These are foreign equity and foreign bond mutual funds.

PAMI believes that the appetite for new investment opportunities of the Filipino investor continous to grow. And that it is important to offer them better investment opportunities which can be found outside of the Philippine financial system.

"Other Asian countries have tapped the regional and international financial system for investment opportunities for the nationals. In fact, the Philippine banking system has already started tapping these instruments," Roa added.

PAMI launched last month its newest mutual fund, the Philam Managed Income Fund (PMIF), which at the start of November stood at P120 million in net assets.

The PMIF is a conservative investment that provides opportunities for long-term growth derived most from government securities and provides a cash flow for short term financial needs.

PAMI manages six mutual funds namely the Philam Bond Fund (PBF), the Philam Fund (PFI), the Philam Strategic Growth Fund (PSGF), the GSIS Kinabukasan Mutual Fund, the Philam Dollar Bond Fund (PDBF), and the PMIF.

The PDBF presently amounts to $132 million or P6.596 billion composed of roughly 13,300 individual accounts.

The PBF has a net asset value of P8.456 billion from 3,440 accounts. The PFI or balanced fund accounts for assets worth P795 million from over 5,000 individual accounts.

The PSGF or equity fund was valued at P983 million from over 8,900 accounts while the GSIS Mutual Fund has grown to P1.695 billion from 7,350 individual accounts mostly GSIS (Government Service and Insurance System) members.

Combined accounts of the PAMI-managed mutual funds totaled nearly 38,000 individual accounts. That makes PAMI the biggest in terms of accounts within the country’s mutual fund industry.

In fact, all funds has so far outperformed its 2005 performance, except for the PDBF. The dollar-denominated fund recorded an outstanding 8.34 percent in net yield last year.

PAMI-managed mutual funds are among the leaders in each category with the GSIS Mutual Fund and the PDBF with the biggest assets in their respective categories.

"PAMI definitely caters to the retail market, giving the neglected small investors the opportunity for savings and earnings," officials said.

As of Nov. 22, net asset value per share (NAVPS) of the different funds have yielded impressive returns.

The PBF reported a NAVPS of 2.5441 percent, the PFI with 7.4562 percent, and the PSGF with 278.11.

The PDBF recorded a 1.4079 NAVPS while the GSIS has a 1.6493 NAVPS in the said period.