PHL’s largest UITF provider still bullish amid signs of moderate global economic growth

WHILE BDO Unibank sees the global economy heading for more moderate growth this year, it still makes sense to diversify into global investments and seize opportunities in markets outside the Philippines for growth over the long term.

Through BDO’s Global Feeder Funds (GFF), investors can gain access to the United States, China, Japan, European and global equity markets. The said funds started 2019 with very strong returns ranging from 12 percent to 18 percent in dollar terms as of end-February.

Based on fund performance figures published by a web site on the Unit Investment Trust Funds (www.uitf.com), the BDO China Equity Feeder Fund (CEFF) landed the top spot for dollar-denominated global equity funds with its 18.4-percent return since the start of the year.

The bank said its CEFF feeds into the BlackRock Global Funds (BGF) China Fund, which is primarily invested in a portfolio of equities and equity-related instruments of China-related companies traded both onshore and offshore China.

According to Frederico R.D. Ocampo, the chief investment officer of the BDO Trust and Investments Group, the rally in the Chinese stock market this year is due to improving sentiment toward China as its policy environment become more supportive and concerns on the trade war has eased.

BDO currently manages six US dollar-denominated global feeder funds. All six funds found its way to the top 10 dollardenominated equity UITFs in the country, including its newly launched fund, the BDO Global Equity Index Feeder Fund at rank 3.

“We continue to expand the range of investment choices available to our clients,” Rafael Ayuste Jr., trust officer of BDO, said in a statement. “We have lined up products for launch this year which hopefully will attract client’s interest again in the UITFs which generally took a beating last year due to weak markets.”

With over P214 billion in assets under management across 27 investment funds, BDO is currently the largest UITF provider in the Philippines with a 37-percent market share. The BDO GFFs are available for a minimum investment of $2,000 through the BDO network of more than 1,200 branches and via BDO Invest Online.