BDO assets breach P1-T mark

MANILA, Philippines - Assets managed by Sy-led BDO Unibank Inc. increased 12 percent last year to breach the P1-trillion mark, becoming the first Philippine financial institution to do so.

BDO executive vice president and trust officer Ador Abrogena said consolidated trust assets under management (AUM) reached P1.03 trillion compared with P917 billion in 2015.

“2016 was a banner year for BDO both for business growth and new product development in terms of trust assets,” Abrogena said.

The AUM was shared between BDO’s Trust and Investments Group (TIG) with P755 billion and the Wealth Advisory and Trust Group of subsidiary BDO Private Bank (BDOPB) with P273 billion.

TIG is known for its retail investment products, notably its family of Unit Investment Trust Fund as well as its customized portfolios for individuals as well as corporations while BDOPB focuses on servicing the investment and estate planning needs of high net worth individuals using an open architecture framework.

“We are grateful to our clients whose continuing confidence in our trust and investment products and services propelled us to reach P1 trillion AUM level. This achievement will not only inspire us to work harder toward better serving our clients, it will also strengthen our resource base that will allow us to fully harness economies of scale and thereby deliver better performance,” he said.

Last year, the bank owned by retail and banking magnate Henry Sy launched the BDO ESG Equity Fund. The fund is invested in stocks of local companies with consideration for good environmental, social and governance practices.

It also introduced the BDO US Equity Feeder Fund for global investors who wish to invest in the US equities. This widens the choices of investors who want to invest in foreign markets and complements BDO’s current listing of Feeder Funds that include the BDO Developed Markets Property Index Feeder Fund, BDO Global Equity Select Feeder Fund and the BDO China Equity Feeder Fund.