Sun Life mutual funds surpass all time record

MANILA, Philippines - The Sun Life Asset Management Co. Inc. (SLAMC) has reported combined assets under management (AUMs) of a little over P18.6 billion at the end of October 2010, higher than the record level of P18.2 billion accumulated for the whole of 2007.

SLAMC is the fund management subsidiary of the Sun Life Financial Philippines. Also under its wing is the Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc., the country’s second leading life insurance firm.

At the end of October last year, assets stood at P14.6 billion and ranked second best among all the mutual fund firms in the country in that period.

SLAMC manages seven mutual funds invested in the equities market, the peso-denominated fixed income or bond fund, two US dollar denominated funds, a peso-denominated fixed income fund devoted solely to the government securities, a balanced fund or mix of both equities and fixed income, and a money market fund.

It is the largest family of mutual funds and has consistently ranked among the top three performers in the mutual fund industry.

Sun Life Financial chief executive officer and SLAMC head Naresh Krishnan said that all the critical internal and external factors have connived in favor of a strong economy and an exciting investment climate.

Krishnan said that the combined elements of a strong economy, stable political environment, relentless rise of remittances from overseas Filipinos, benign inflation, strong Asian economies, and weak economies of the developed nations all contributed to offer a situation ripe for the development of the country’s mutual fund industry.

“It was like all the stars have aligned to create a positive situation,” Krishnan added.

SLAMC forecast that the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) would breach the 4,500 level this year. “It is just around the corner, and it is imaginable that it (PSEi) would challenge the 5,000 level next year,” Krishnan dared.

The country’s bourse is among the best performing board in the region. It has grown by over 36 percent year-to-date, second only to the Jakarta composite index.

What is more encouraging is that the domestic investors are fueling the market more than their foreign counterparts.

At the start of 2009, foreign investors migrated to other Asian markets while the domestic buyers breathed life to the markets allowing the index to rise at the 2,400 level at the start of the second semester.

Foreign direct investments started pouring in the second quarter of 2010, but jumped ship in the next quarter. The locals kept the faith bringing the index close to the previous historic high of 3,500-level.

In September, foreign money returned and pumped enough capital to help the index enter unchartered territories. As of presstime, history is still being re-written.

“Nobody knows where the index will stop, but the listed corporations are still below the average 15 percent growth levels,” the Sun Life Financial executive added.