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The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), together with the Association of Investment Management Companies (AIMC) and asset management firms, will hold the “Let's Thais save tax and invest for retirement through LTF &RMF” fund fair on December 19-22 in Bangkok to promote long-term equity funds (LTFs) and retirement mutual fund (RMFs) as tax-saving and long-term investment instruments for individuals, reinforcing the uptrend of mutual fund growing 12 percent from end-2012 to THB2.92 trillion (approx. THB90.26 billion) for the whole industry.
SET Executive Vice President and Head of Markets Division Kesara Manchusree said the exchange has expanded the investor base via mutual funds for ten consecutive years. This year’s campaign has successfully attracted individuals to invest via mutual funds as an alternative tool after continuously holding marketing activities.
Morning Research data reported that yields of mutual equity funds dated back five years (as of December 13, 2013) were at 235.09 percent, or a compounded average of 27.15 percent a year. Mutual equity funds have a combined net asset value of THB716.95 billion, up 25.26 percent from end-2012, while unit holders of such funds increased 12 percent to 1.6 million accounts (data as of end-June).
“In 2014, the Exchange’s project will still focus on promoting mutual funds as a major investment choice and using mutual fund as a savings tool for Thailand’s households to meet financial demands of all levels. We also plan to develop information access, build product variety, focus on providing in-depth information to investors, improve communication channels via a wide range of media broadly and expand to the provinces,” Kesara added.
Somjin Sornpaisarn, Chairman of AIMC said; “Mutual funds have been continuously gaining in popularity. As of December 13, 2013, the fund industry had THB2.92 trillion of net assets under management, up 11.76 percent from the end of last year, including 123 RMFs worth THB132 billion and 52 LTFs worth THB205 billion. The number of unit holders has increased continuously, rising 3.72 percent from end-2012 to 3.7 million accounts (as of June, 2013). The number of RMF accounts rose 7.38 percent to 456,848, while the number of LTF accounts climbed 5.43 percent to 828,196.”
“This year, the investment behavior of LTF and RMF holders has changed. They now gradually buy fund units throughout the year, rather than crowding their purchases at year-end. RMF returns dated back five years was at 211.92 percent, or a compounded average of 25 percent a year, while LTF returns for this period was at 196.59 percent, or a compounded 23.62 percent a year. For 2014, we believe that mutual funds will remain attractive to investors and expect net assets under management of the whole industry to reach THB3 trillion, while LTF and RMF should continue to be major attractions,”
“Equity funds should also rise following the country’s economy, in line with the experience in developed countries, where people are sophisticated in financial management, including long-term investment, and accept high risk levels in the short term,” Somjin added.
The “Let's Thais save tax and invest for retirement through LTF &RMF” fair will be held at Central World, Bangkok, with more than 1,400 funds on offer and 18 leading asset management companies giving advice and calculating taxes for investors.
