MANILA, Philippines - The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has introduced the first unit investment trust fund (UITF) for government employees.
The DBP Unlad Kawani Money Market Fund (Unlad Kawani) is the first investment fund for individual government employees with an initial investment of just P25 per payday.
DBP president and chief executive officer Cesar A. Buenaventura said the new investment product fulfills DBP’s development bank mandate.
“It fulfills the government’s inclusive growth thrusts by offering investment products for the small investors in government,” he said.
It also opens more opportunities for DBP to do business with government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and local government units (LGUs).
Meanwhile, DBP senior vice president and trust services group head Maria Teresa T. Atienza said that the initial pool would be offered to DBP employees.
“By next year, it will be offered to all government employees such as teachers and policemen with a payroll account with DBP,” Atienza added.
When enrolled, the investor can add to his investment through the automated teller machine (ATM) network of DBP, numbering over 320 onsite and offsite units.
DBP, a member of the BancNet network, is making arrangement that placements and redemptions can be undertaken with any BancNet-affiliated ATM and operated by other bank partner. No fees are slapped on ATM transactions related to Unlad Kawani.
The UITF is placed in fixed income government securities, guided by the 2.5 percent rate of the special deposit account (SDA). The SDA is managed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), thus carrying a government guarantee in returns.
Atienza said Unlad Kawani offers the ease of making investments for government employees, and it mimics a savings account but with better returns.
As of presstime, the UITF has already an investor base of 1,200.