Article on The Philippine Star

I read this article entitled, Investing In Mutual Funds Results In Huge Earnings, which cites different investors and their earnings over a period of time. It also explains various mutual fund products which suits every investor's needs.

 

Source: RSA

How To Open A Mutual Fund Account

This entry is in response to Shine’s request on how to start a mutual fund account. 

I can only speak for the mutual fund companies I have invested but the process is almost the same for all.

For Philequity Management Inc. (PEMI), Click LINK

For First Metro Asset Management Inc. (FAMI),  Click LINK

For ALFM (BPI) –Visit any BPI branch and ask about their mutual funds.  They will give your forms to fill-out.  Here are the various ALFM mutual funds, Click LINK

For Philam Asset Management (PAMI), here's the investment procedure.

1.    For Individual or Corporate Accounts:

• Investor/s fills the following forms:

a.      Investment Application Form (IAF)

b.      Client Information Sheet

• Investor/s submits a photocopy of any government issued ID.
• At most, 3 persons can open a joint account
• For Corporate Account please submit the ff:

1.      Articles of Incorporation & By-Laws

2.      Certificate of Registration

3.      Board Resolution, authorizing the investment

4.      Secretary’s Certificate w/ Specimen Signature

5.      Certificate of Beneficial Ownership

2. Investments can be made through:

CHECK:  Check should be made payable to the fund, i.e.,

–        Philam Bond Fund, Inc.

–        Philam Fund, Inc.

–        Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc.,

–        Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc.,

–        GSIS Mutual Fund, Inc.

(For any out-of-town checks or offshore dollar checks received, booking of investment will be made upon clearance of check).

CASH - For dollar cash notes, please provide a copy of the dollar bill serial number or a photocopy of the dollar bills.

3. For investment coursed through BANKS, deposit amount payable to the fund with the corresponding bank account number.   Please provide PAMI a copy of the deposit slip and fax IAF & Deposit Slip to fax # 813-6813/18 before the cut-off time, 12 noon.  Please indicate name of BDO as recipient.

Note for Faxed Investments:  Original Receipts and Confirmation of Purchase (OR/COP) will be released only after ORIGINAL copies of investment forms and deposit slips have already been submitted to PAMI.

Link To Mutual Fund Report On NAV and Returns

Here is a link to a MUTUAL FUND Report.  Click LINK. This report will provide you:

• Net Asset Value (NAV)
• Historical Returns per Mutual Fund for 1-year, 3-year, 5-year and YTD returns

This link is as of January 3, 2011.  But it is updated daily so do visit Inquirer's website at http://business.inquirer.net/ to get updates.

Investor knowledge is key.  It is one of the best ways to minimize risks.

Sun Life Asset Management Company Inc. (SLAMC)

 

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Sun Life Financial in the Philippines offers a wide spectrum of products that include Life Insurance, Accidental Insurance, Pension Plans, Education Plans and Mutual Funds.

Sun Life Financial Philippines is represented in the country by its life insurance arm, Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. (SLOCPI); its mutual fund manager, Sun Life Asset Management Company Inc. (SLAMC); and its pre-need business distributor, Sun Life Financial Plans Inc (SLFPI).

SLAMC is the fund manager and principal distributor of the biggest family of mutual funds in the country – the Sun Life Prosperity Funds. The company is the first in the industry to have an accounting system that adequately complied with the standards set by the International Accounting Standards (IAS). SLAMC benefits greatly from the expertise of its mother company’s close association with MFS Investment Management – the inventor of mutual funds in the U.S.

Here are Sunlife’s Mutual Fund Products:

Bond Fund

The Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund is designed to provide regular interest income and preservation of capital through investments in government and high-quality corporate debt securities that together represent below average risk.

Once you have decided how much you want to place in the Fund, you will be given three purchase options:

Option A (front-end sales load) requires that you pay the sales charge upon investing. 

Option B (back-end sales load), on the other hand, requires that you pay a sales charge only if you redeem (sell your shares to the fund) within five years, with the charges on a decreasing rate per year, reaching zero after the fifth year.

The third sales load option (Option C) is called the front-end load with redemption fee. Purchasing shares under this option means paying a lower sales charge upon entry (compared to Option A), and a lower sales charge upon redemption (compared to Option B). The sales charge upon redemption will only be paid if you redeem in less than 2 years. The minimum initial investment for this option, however, is pegged at Php 1,000,000.

All of these options also allow you to transfer between selected peso-denominated funds as much as four times a calendar year, free of charge.

To learn more about the Sun Life Prosperity Funds, please get in touch with us through telephone number (632) 849-9888 or email: phil_prosperity@sunlife.com

Balanced Fund 

The Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund is designed to provide total returns consisting of current income and capital growth through investment in a diversified portfolio of debt (bonds) and equity (stocks) securities from both domestic and foreign issuers.

To learn more about the Sun Life Prosperity Funds, please get in touch with us through telephone number (632) 849-9888 or email: phil_prosperity@sunlife.com 

Philippine Equity Fund  

The Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund is designed to generate long-term capital appreciation through investments mainly in high-quality listed Philippine equity securities, diversified across sectors and issue sizes to reduce portfolio volatility. The term "equity securities" include common stock, preferred stock and securities convertible into, or exchangeable for, such equity securities. The fund may also invest in fixed-income securities issued by government and prime corporations such as, but not limited to, commercial papers, notes, bonds, and non-convertible preferred shares.

To learn more about the Sun Life Prosperity Funds, please get in touch with us through telephone number (632) 849-9888 or email: phil_prosperity@sunlife.com

Money Market Fund

Money market funds are comparatively low risk mainly because of the securities in their portfolio. These types of funds only invest in securities that are “short-term,” meaning those with a term of one year or less. As a general rule, short-term securities are less riskier than longer-tenor securities.

The Prosperity Money Market Fund is the first absolutely no load fund in the Philippines. There are no fees to pay upon investing. This means that your Php 10,000 initial placement is invested wholly into the fund, thereby maximizing its earning potential. Subsequent investments can also be made for as low as Php 5,000.

 

In addition, the Prosperity Money Market Fund provides immediately access to your investments after seven (7) calendar days. This means you can withdraw your investments after seven (7) days without incurring any exit fees. Other mutual funds may not have any initial sales loads when you invest, but will require you to have at least a two year holding period otherwise your redemption shall be subjected to exit fee. But with the Prosperity Money Market Fund, you do not have to worry this.

Unlike bank products that provide tax breaks on your interest earnings only when you stay with them until your money “matures”, your mutual fund proceeds are not subject to the usual 20% withholding tax.

This tax-free feature of Philippine mutual funds, combined with the liquidity, zero load, and no holding period attributes of the Prosperity Money Market Fund, make it a good alternative to time deposits. That dilemma of not being able to pull out your money because you’ll be “taxed” is no longer a problem with this Fund.

GS Fund

The Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund invests purely in securities of the Republic of the Philippines. These include all domestic fixed-income instruments issued directly by the Philippine government. As such, payment of proceeds to the Fund is backed by a sovereign guarantee.

Just how safe are government securities? Consider this fact: for the protection of the investors, all Philippine registered mutual funds are mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission to comply with some regulatory restrictions. One of these is that no locally registered mutual funds can invest more than 10% of its total assets in the securities of any one issuer. The only exception to this rule? Investments in government securities can be virtually limitless, because these are considered as investments guaranteed by the government.

The minimum initial investment for the Fund is Php 10,000 for Options
A & B, and Php 1,000,000 for Option C. Subsequent investments may also be made for Php 5,000. The Fund has three purchase options:

Option A (front-end sales load) requires that you pay the sales charge upon investing. 

Option B (back-end sales load), on the other hand, requires that you pay a sales charge only if you redeem (sell your shares to the fund) within five years, with the charges on a decreasing rate per year, reaching zero after the fifth year.

Option C is also available for the Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund. Purchasing shares with this sales load means paying a lower sales charge upon entry (compared to Option A), and a lower sales charge upon redemption (compared to Option B). The sales charge upon redemption will only be applicable if you redeem in less than 2 years.

Dollar Advantage Fund

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund may be invested in foreign-exchange denominated securities issued abroad. This means that with just one fund, you have the opportunity to access a broader range of securities markets in your investment portfolio, benefiting from higher-growth economies and increasing your potential overall return.

If the investment managers take advantage of the option to invest abroad, the Fund may achieve a level of diversification that is more varied than if it were just to invest locally. Through diversification, foreign exposure can actually reduce risk and provide greater stability in your portfolio. Investing this way reduces the effect of a downturn in any single country. For this reason, diversification works best among economies that move in different economic cycles - while one market may be depressed, others may be booming.

To learn more about the Sun Life Prosperity Funds, please get in touch with us through telephone number (632) 849-9888 or email: phil_prosperity@sunlife.com

Dollar Abundance Fund

If you are primarily a conservative investor who prefers investing in foreign exchange denominated investments, then the Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund is for you. Though the Fund is designed to invest in bonds primarily denominated in US Dollars, it may also invest in fixed-income instruments denominated in other leading foreign currencies. These include securities issued by governments and corporations in the Republic of the Philippines, the United States, or other major world economies such as the Euro zone, Japan, Canada, United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

Just like the Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, the Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund gives its investors the opportunity to earn in US Dollars as well as the chance to invest in offshore securities. The Philippine government currently allows local mutual funds to invest in securities issued abroad. This means that our Fund Managers can take advantage of investment opportunities overseas if market conditions allow.

So what, you may ask, is the difference between the Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund and the Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund? Simply put, the Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund is a balanced fund that invests in both bonds and stocks, while the Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund is a purely bond fund.

This makes it a more suitable fund for those who prefer the fixed-income earnings of bond instruments and don’t like the potential volatility of equity investments. If you are new to the world of investing and are not sure what fund you should invest in, take our Investor Profile Questionnaire quiz and let your Sun Life Mutual Fund Representative guide you in your choice of fund.

Investing with the Sun Life Prosperity Funds gives you affordable access to high caliber investment management that is usually reserved only for corporations, institutions, and the very wealthy. Successful investing takes knowledge and careful research, qualities that the Sun Life Financial investment management team possess in abundance.

The minimum initial investment for the Fund is US$ 2,000. Subsequent investments may also be made for US$ 500. The Fund has three purchase options:

Option A (front-end sales load) requires that you pay the sales charge upon investing. 

Option B (back-end sales load), on the other hand, requires that you pay a sales charge only if you redeem (sell your shares to the fund) within five years, with the charges on a decreasing rate per year, reaching zero after the fifth year.

A third option, Option C, is available for the Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund. Purchasing shares with this sales load means paying a lower sales charge upon entry (compared to Option A), and a lower sales charge upon redemption (compared to Option B). The sales charge upon redemption will only be applicable if you redeem in less than 2 years.

To learn more about the Sun Life Prosperity Funds, please get in touch with us through telephone number (632) 849-9888 or email: phil_prosperity@sunlife.com

image source

Website:

 http://www.sunlife.com.ph/philippines

ALFM Family Of Funds

 Here are the BPI-Managed Mutual Funds:

ALFM Peso Bond Fund

ALFM Dollar Bond Fund

ALFM Euro Bond Fund

ALFM Growth Fund

Philippine Stock Index Fund

ALFM Money Market Fund

Ekklesia Mutual Fund 

ALFM Peso Bond Fund

Investment Objective	To generate a steady stream of income through investing in a diversified portfolio of high-grade peso-denominated fixed income instruments.
Launch Date	July 18, 1997
Fund Type	Medium Term Bond Fund
Base Currency	Philippine Peso
Minimum Initial Investment	Php 50,000.00
Minimum Transaction	Php 10,000.00
Minimum Holding Period	180 days
Initial Sales Charge	Waived
Early Redemption Fee	1.00%
Management Fee	1.50% per annum
Fund Manager	Bank of The Philippine Islands
Risk Disclosure	The Fund is suitable for investors who take medium- to long-term views. The Fund’s yield, net asset value, and total return may fall as well as rise as a result of interest rate movements and the changes in credit quality of the investments. On redemption of shares, an investor may receive an amount less than the original amount of the investment.

ALFM Dollar Bond Fund

Investment Objective	To generate a steady stream of income by investing in a diversified portfolio of fixed income instruments issued by foreign and local entities.
Launch Date	February 5, 2002
Fund Type	Medium Term Bond Fund
Base Currency	US Dollar
Minimum Initial Investment	USD 1,000
Minimum Transaction	USD 200
Minimum Holding Period	180 days
Initial Sales Charge	Waived
Early Redemption Fee	1.00%
Management Fee	1.25% per annum
Fund Manager	BPI Investment Management, Inc.
Risk Disclosure	The Fund is suitable for investors who take medium- to long-term views. The Fund's yield, net asset value and total return may fall as well as rise as a result of interest rate and currency movements and the changes in the credit quality of the investments. On redemption of shares, an investor may receive an amount less than the original amount of the investment. Liquidity risk also need to be taken into account.

 ALFM Euro Bond Fund

Investment Objective	To generate a steady stream of income by investing in a diversified portfolio of fixed income instruments issued by foreign and local entities.
Launch Date	January 19, 2006
Fund Type	Medium Term Bond Fund
Base Currency	Euro
Minimum Initial Investment	EUR 1,000
Minimum Transaction	EUR 200
Minimum Holding Period	180 days
Initial Sales Charge	Waived
Early Redemption Fee	1.00%
Management Fee	0.50% per annum
Fund Manager	BPI Investment Management, Inc.
Risk Disclosure	The Fund is suitable for investors who take medium- to long-term views. The Fund's yield, net asset value and total return may fall as well as rise as a result of interest rate and currency movements and the changes in the credit quality of the investments. On redemption of shares, an investor may receive an amount less than the original amount of the investment.

ALFM Growth Fund

Investment Objective	To achieve investment returns from a diversified portfolio of equities and fixed income instruments.
Launch Date	November 27, 2007
Fund Type	Long Term
Base Currency	Philippine Peso
Minimum Initial Investment	Php 50,000.00
Minimum Transaction	Php 10,000.00
Minimum Holding Period	180 days
Initial Sales Charge	Waived
Early Redemption Fee	1.00%
Management Fee	1.50% per annum
Fund Manager	Bank of the Philippine Islands
Risk Disclosure	The Fund is suitable for investors who take medium to long-term views. As a marked-to market Mutual Fund, the Fund’s net asset value, and total return may fall as well as rise as a result of stock prices and interest rates movements. On redemption of shares, an investor may receive an amount less than the original amount of investment.

Philippine Stock Index Fund

Investment Objective	To achieve investment returns that track the performance of the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index (PSEi).
Launch Date	March 14, 2003
Fund Type	Index Tracker Equity Fund
Base Currency	Philippine Peso
Minimum Initial Investment	Php 50,000.00
Minimum Transaction	Php 10,000.00
Minimum Holding Period	180 days
Initial Sales Charge	Waived
Early Redemption Fee	1.00%
Management Fee	1.50% per annum
Fund Manager	Bank of the Philippine Islands
Risk Disclosure	The Fund is suitable for investors who take short- to medium-term views. The Fund’s yield, net asset value, and total return may fall as well as rise as a result of interest rate movements and the changes in credit quality of the investments. On redemption of shares, an investor may receive an amount less than the original amount of the investment.

ALFM Money Market Fund

Investment Objective	To seek capital preservation and stable income from a diversified portfolio of short-term bonds and money market investments.
Launch Date	March 1, 2010
Fund Type	Money Market Fund
Base Currency	Philippine Peso
Minimum Initial Investment	Php 50,000.00
Minimum Transaction	Php 10,000.00
Minimum Holding Period	30 days
Initial Sales Charge	Waived
Early Redemption Fee	1.00%
Management Fee	0.75% per annum
Fund Manager	BPI Investment Management, Inc.
Risk Disclosure	The Fund is suitable for investors who take medium to long-term views. The Fund’s net asset value, and total return may fall as well as rise as a result of stock price movements. On redemption of shares, an investor may receive an amount less than the original amount of investment.

Ekklesia Mutual Fund

Investment Objective	To achieve growth through income derived from medium to long-term fixed income instruments denominated in Philippine Peso or major foreign currencies.
Launch Date	August 2, 2004
Fund Type	Medium- to Long-Term Bond Fund
Base Currency	Philippine Peso
Minimum Initial Investment	Php 5,000.00
Minimum Transaction	Php 1,000.00
Minimum Holding Period	30 days
Initial Sales Charge	Waived
Early Redemption Fee	1.00%
Management Fee	1.75% per annum
Fund Manager	BPI Investment Management, Inc.
Risk Disclosure	The Fund is suitable for investors who take medium- to long-term views. The Fund’s yield, net asset value and total return may fall as well as rise as a result of interest rate movements and the changes in credit quality of the investments. On redemption of shares, an investor may receive an amount less than the original amount of the investment.

You may also visit BPI's website for economic updates, stock market news, and global news that will serve as guide to your investment products.

Websites: 

http://www.bpiexpressonline.com

http://www.bpitrade.com/trade

When I invested in ALFM Growth Fund last year, there is  a website exclusively for ALFM Mutual Funds (www.alfm.com.ph) but it is already inactive as of now.

You may also inquire in any BPI branch.  This was how I learned about BPI’s various mutual funds.