MANILA, Philippines - PNB Life Insurance Inc. has recently launched the Peso Optimized Dividend Equity Fund (PODEF), a fund that invests in a basket of 20 companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) with a history of high dividend yields while remaining liquid and actively traded. The basket composition includes the major companies engaged in energy, mining, utilities, financial services, realty, food, and telecommunications. PODEF is appropriate to investors who recognize the potential of high yields from the stock market investments while being comfortable with the corresponding risk. Since its launch in September, the net asset value per unit (NAVPU) of PODEF has grown by 2.5 percent. PNB Life president Esther Tan said that having PNB as fund manager for this special fund is a logical and preferred choice proving it can strategically meld together the financial strength of the two companies. PNB Life is the life insurance arm of the Philippine National Bank (PNB) and the Lucio Tan Group of Companies. More conservative investors can also consider allocating some of their premiums to PNB Life’s other unit linked (VUL) funds such as the Peso Fixed Income, Peso Balanced Fund, or the Peso Money Market Fund.