BPI equity index fund breaches P1 billion

MANILA, Philippines — The BPI Philippine Consumer Equity Index Fund now stands at P1.2 billion.

“We have breached the P1 billion mark and now have P1.2 billion in the fund in just over a year. This reflects the appetite of investors for the fund,” said BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. (BPI AMTC) president Mario Miranda.

BPI AMTC manages the fund, which has soared in rankings among unit investment trust funds (UITFs) in the country as of June 4, according to uitf.com.ph.

UITFs are open-ended funds operated and managed by a trust entity such as BPI AMTC to cater to investors who want to take advantage of the opportunities presented by increasing consumer spending.

Miranda said BPI AMTC hopes to make every investor optimistic about the stock market through passively-managed peso equity funds in the country such as the BPI Philippine Consumer Equity Index Fund.

BPI AMTC has the most comprehensive line of index funds and products, which cover major asset classes, various industries, both domestic and global.

Last year, the BPI Philippine Consumer Equity Index Fund ended with a 14.44 percent net return to investors since its inception in January 2017.

The bank attributed this to the strong growth momentum of the Philippine economy driven by resilient consumption and accelerated investments.

“The fund capitalizes on the demographic gift of the Philippines. This is fundamentally a defensive move given that it hinges on the most stable driver of economic growth – consumer spending,” Miranda said.

The BPI Philippine Consumer Equity Index Fund invests in corporations that are part of the consumer industry having at least 50 percent of its revenue being derived from consumer products or services or at least 50 percent of the fair value of its net assets being utilized for consumer related business activities.

But Miranda cited the falling peso and the rising risk of global trade war as factors affecting the movement of the stock market.

The currency depreciation bodes well for the economy since it is favorable to these sectors — OFW families, the BPO industry, and tourism, which account for more than 25 percent of GDP, “ he said.

Moving forward, BPI still expects strong growth to continue in 2018 as the government adopts an expansionary fiscal policy, higher consumer spending power due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration, a lift from pre-midterm election spending and benefits of a weak peso.