MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is further growing its investment business as its asset under management breached the P1-trillion level last November amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maria Theresa Marcial, chief finance officer at BPI, expects the bank’s investment businesses to grow further by tapping underserved and untapped markets through financial inclusion and education campaigns.
BPI’s trust and asset management businesses grew by 14 percent to P1.02 trillion with BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. (AMTC) accounting for P832 billion and BPI Investment Management Inc. (BIMI) cornering P190 billion despite the impact of the global health crisis.
For one, BPI AMTC holds free Investment 101 webinars led by its in-house wealth managers that are open to the public, while weekly financial education materials are also posted in its social media pages to reach a wider audience.
“These are in keeping with both BPI’s vision of building a better Philippines and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ thrust of greater financial inclusion throughout the country,” Marcial said.
Marcial said BPI was able to grow its trust and investment management businesses both organically and through new accounts and fund management acquisitions.
“We are grateful for the trust that the investing public has put in BPI, and in our fund management arms, BPI AMTC and BIMI. In return, our clients have our assurance that we will continue to provide them with excellent financial services that have stood the test of time and trials such as the ongoing pandemic,” Marcial said.
For her part, BPI AMTC president Sheila Marie Tan said the company’s continuous focus on superior risk-adjusted returns gives existing clients and new investors confidence in its products.
“Coupled with tighter client coverage and improved account servicing, we will afford our investors the same level of consistent attention and performance for their investments,” Tan said.
BPI has a wide range of funds including BPI Invest Money Market Fund, BPI Invest US Dollar Short Term Fund, BPI PERA Money Market Fund, BPI PERA Government Bond Fund, BPI Invest Global Equity Fund-of-Funds, and the BPI Invest US Equity Index Feeder Fund to fit every investor risk profile.
“Our foreign investment funds have proven particularly popular, as the pandemic highlighted the need for investors to truly diversify their portfolios. Our funds allow them to enter into high-quality global investments at reasonable and achievable amounts,” Tan added.
BPI AMTC customers can subscribe to BPI Invest Global Equity Fund-of-Funds for as low as $500. This fund has been awarded Best Managed Fund of the Year for the Dollar Equity Funds category by the CFA Society Philippines for the fourth straight year since 2017.
Tan said the bank’s online readiness allowed BPI Online and BPI Mobile app users to subscribe to or redeem investments from the comfort and safety of their homes.
“With many customers having to perform most tasks and transactions online due to social distancing requirements and community quarantine restrictions, clients are appreciative of the ability to do self-service transactions on their devices and in their own time,” Tan said.
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Article and Photo originally posted by Philippine Star last December 25, 2020 12:00am and written by Lawrence Agcaoli. Minor edits have been made by REBPH to cater to its own readers.
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