SUN LIFE Asset Management Co., Inc. (SLAMCI) rolled out a global feeder fund which will allow its clients to invest in stock markets around the world using the local currency.

The Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund (WEIFF) aims to diversify the investment portfolio of clients to international markets, SLAMCI President Valerie N. Pama said in an online briefing on Thursday.

“The fund was designed specifically for experienced investors who can tolerate significant fluctuations in the value of investments and currency movements, and do not mind market volatility,” Ms. Pama said.

WEIFF allows clients to invest in companies across developed and emerging countries and targets investors seeking long-term growth, said Dino S. Macasaet, product development manager at SLAMCI.

As a feeder fund, 90% of assets will be invested in a single, target fund using the peso, Mr. Macasaet said. The target fund tracks the performance of MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI), an index with over 2,000 constituents worldwide.

“The top holdings of the target fund, of the SPDR (MSCI ACWI ETF) fund, include Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Alibaba, Visa and Nestle. In terms of sector holdings, 20% of the fund is exposed in information technology, followed by financials and healthcare at 13%,” he said.

The fund requires a minimum initial investment of P50,000 and increments of P10,000 thereafter.

Mr. Macasaet said the WEIFF will have a total fund management distribution fee of one percent per annum, which is a similar rate with its equity index fund locally.

In the same briefing, Sun Life of Canada Philippines Inc. (Sun Life Philippines) Global Funds Head Mikko Vergara said the ACWI target fund is a “lower volatility outlet” partly because it has more constituents.

“Dynamics in the markets are changing… If the market moves downward, having your assets in different countries, in different sectors, can sort of help you position for return expectations,” Mr. Vergara said.

SLAMCI currently manages 11 peso-denominated funds and five dollar-denominated funds.

It is among the largest non-bank affiliated asset management companies in the country, with more than P94 billion in assets under management (AUMs) as of end-June.

It targets to have P100 billion in AUMs this year. — B.M. Laforga

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