FAMI mutual funds expand 88.4%

MANILA, Philippines - The First Metro Asset Management Inc. (FAMI) has reported a whopping 88.4 percent expansion in the size of its net assets under management (AUMs), or from P5.133 billion at the start of 2012 to P11.59 billion by February 2013. 

FAMI is a subsidiary of the First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), a member of the Metrobank Group of Companies. 

For the whole of 2012, AUMs expanded 83.8 percent, while its year-to-date value grew 22.9 percent. 

The assets represent the five mutual funds overseen by FAMI, four of which fall under the family of Save and Learn mutual funds (SAL).

These are the Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund (SALFIF), Save and Learn Equity Fund (SALEF), Save and Learn Balanced Fund (SALBF), and the Save and Learn Money Market Fund (SALMMF).

The SALEF equity fund grew by 93.52 percent, or from P3 billion in January 2012 to P6.48 billion at the start of 2013. 

The equity funds are riding on the record level of growth of the country’s stock market.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) has broken records over 15 times this year, and 38 times last year.

The SALFIF expanded 97.09 percent to P2.9 billion while the SALBF grew by nearly hundred percent to P1.8 billion from P793 million at the end of 2011. 

The SALBF grew 99.5 percent last year. At the start of February, assets were valued at P1.84 billion. 

A balanced fund is basically a mixture of fixed income and equity investments with the asset allocation depending on the performance of the two markets.

Thus in a record-setting performance of the equity markets, fund managers recommend greater allocation in the equity market. 

The Global Opportunity Fund (GOP), the dollar-denominated fund investing in a diversified portfolio of fixed income instruments issued by foreign and local entities, stood at a valuation of P142 million.

 SALMMF meanwhile reported assets worth P212 million, or the smallest in terms of value as the market factored in higher returns from the other funds. 

FAMI’s total number of accounts expanded to 16,281 while the fund manager was ranked fourth largest among the country’s mutual fund industry. 

The industry’s total net assets at the end of 2012 stood at a record P146 billion coming from 166,097 individual accounts from 48 mutual funds. 

Investing in mutual funds is an alternative investment platform for the retail or consumer market, similar to the unit investment trust fund (UITF).