KTAM launches CG fund
Krungthai Asset Management (KTAM) yesterday launched its corporate governance (CG) mutual fund to capture opportunities from CG companies and the Thai bourse’s upward trend.
The KTB Thai CG fund will be placed for investor subscription between Sept 20-26, with a required minimum investment of 1,000 baht.
The fund will invest up to 80% of net assets under management in companies that have good CG scores. The companies are rated by the Thai Institute of Directors (IoD), which comprises 123 companies.
Chief investment officer Veera Vutthikongsirigool said the fund will select around 20-30 companies generating decent growth and classified as laggard stocks on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) of the 123 members of the IoD, with active investment the fund’s management theme. The fund plans to focus on healthcare and the financial sector.
Investment will focus on growth stocks and the portfolio will change dynamically if the shares are over-booked, said Mr Veera.
He said investors should aim for longterm investment, at least up to three years, and the fund’s return is expected to exceed the SET index.
For the year-to-date, the IoD/CG index has generated a return of 12.3%, higher than the SET’s 7.62%.
The idea to set up a CG mutual fund was derived from a financial sector initiative in February led by the Federation of Thailand Capital Markets and 14 asset management companies to invest in stocks of companies with good CG records and allocate some investment portion to support anti-corruption campaigns.
KTAM will allocate 40% of its management fee to offices or agencies supporting CG initiatives, anti-corruption campaigns, and the Chaipattana Foundation to help support royal projects and other development projects aimed at improving people’s socioeconomic condition and quality of life.
Six asset management companies previously created their own CG mutual funds: SCB Asset Management, TMB Asset Management, Talis Asset Management, BBL Asset Management, One Asset Management, and Tisco Asset Management.