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Published on July 9, 2007

The firm expects that total assets under management of all three businesses - mutual, provident and private funds - will exceed Bt100 billion this year.

Managing director Suthas Ruangmanamongkol said the company would keep its foothold as the Kingdom's second largest provident- and private-fund service-provider while improving its mutual fund's position.

"Last year we launched half a dozen new funds. In just the first half of this year we're already up to 10. We're definitely acting more aggressively in our mutual-fund business. We were doing very well with private and provident funds; this was a piece of the jigsaw that needed to be put into place," said Suthas.

Throughout last year's unfavourable market and counting only Tisco Bank's headquarters, assets of mutual funds under its management dropped from Bt10.4 billion in 2005 to Bt7.34 billion last year.

"Tisco Bank has opened more branches," said Suthas. "Apart from expectations that the bank's branches will attract more customers, we'll encourage our existing but inactive customers to become active."

Its series of structure-note-linked products, with part of the funds linked to the movement of China and Japan's stock indexes, its corporate bond funds and the pickup in the Thai stock market lifted the firm's assets under management to Bt11.2 billion by late last month.

Suthas said that following the declining interest rate in the local market, Tisco's investors were seeking higher returns from upside gains in China and Japan's stock indexes while maintaining their principles from the investment.

Therefore, its structure-note-linked funds have sold like hot cakes since the beginning of this year. Tisco expects to launch another two or three funds with similar features.

It also plans to launch another four or five corporate-bond funds in the second half of the year.

Tisco has no plans to start a new equity fund this year, because existing funds are already well suited to market circumstances.

As for its plan to launch a foreign-investment fund (FIF), Tisco will wait for the baht's movement to become more sustainable. Although its FIF - the Global Equity Fund, launched in late 2005 - generated a more than 20-per-cent return last year, baht appreciation of about 17 per cent almost shred the return when exchanged into the Thai currency.

Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon

The Nation