New fif offers assured returns; tries to woo long-term investors

The Prudential With-Profit Fund is a 100-year-old fund with assets worth US$173 billion (Bt5.87 trillion). It invests 50 to 70 per cent in equity, 20 to 40 per cent in cash and bonds and about 5 to 15 per cent in commercial property.

Andrew Wallace, international business development director of Prudential International, said the with-profit fund had been exposed to Lehman Brothers only to the tune of 0.05 per cent of its assets. It is, therefore, not greatly affected by the US financial crisis.

The fund has upped its investment in US equity, from which it expects to make a profit in the long term, while decreasing its property investment, he said.

SVE Asset is one of the potential investors in the Dominion X Fund. The firm also acts as arranger in promoting it among other local funds.

Vivat Vinicchayakul, chief executive officer of SVE Asset, said the operation of the Prudential With-Profit Fund over the past 100 years had consistently offered a return of 3 to 5 per cent to investors, as its accumulated profit offsets any year in which a loss is made.

"Right now, the collective profit is about $40 billion. Besides, its credit was rated by Standard & Poors at AA+, compared to the Thai government bond rating of AA-," said Vivat.

There are 12 Dominion X Funds, offering two currencies of investment - the US dollar and the euro.

There are three levels of risk, classified by leverage amount. The first level is investment without leverage, while the second is leverage for the same amount of investment assets. The third level is leverage for double the size of the investment assets.

The targeted annual profits are 6 to 7 per cent, 9 to 11 per cent and 12 to 15 per cent, respectively.

Three types of investors can invest in the Dominion X Fund: high-end individuals, who can directly invest up to $5 million a year; corporations with more than Bt1 billion in assets, which can directly invest up to $50 million a year; and feeder funds, which can raise funds from general investors in order to do so.