Philippine Mutual Funds performance – 3rd Quarter 2008

Mutual funds in the Philippines are still reeling from the effects of the economic crunch that hit the US, as seen in the recent quarterly performance of local mutual fund companies.

Equity funds are still down by around 25% year-to-date, that is, from January to September 2008. Balanced funds, which invest in both stocks and bonds, are losing as well, with five out of seven funds experiencing an average decline in value of 20%. Peso bond funds have mixed performance, with six out of eleven funds managing to post a year-to-date increase. Even money market funds are not spared, with two of three money market mutual funds declining in value.

Here is a list of Philippine mutual funds ranked according to their performance from January 2008 until the end of the third quarter (end-September 2008).

Do note that although the rate of return is usually a good measure of performance, other things such as consistency of return and exposure to risks must also be assessed before you place an investment in any fund.

Remember as well that past performance is not always indicative of future returns.

January to June 2008 income return of Philippine mutual funds below.

Year-to-Date (YTD) Performance of Philippine Mutual Funds (as of 3rd Quarter 2008)

Equity Funds (primarily invested in Peso equity securities)

1. United Fund – (8.69%)
2. First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund – (21.05%)
3. ATR KimEng Equity Opportunity Fund – (22.66%)
4. Sun Life Prosperity Phil. Equity Fund – (23.10%)
5. Philequity PSE Index Fund – (23.48%)
6. Philequity Fund – (24.90%)
7. Philam Strategic Growth Fund – (25.70%)
8. Philippine Stock Index Fund – (29.03%)

Balanced Funds (primarily invested in Peso debt and equity securities)

1. First Galleon Family Fund – 0.41%
2. First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. – 0.13%
3. Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund – (15.56%)
4. Optima Balanced Fund – (16.14%)
5. MFCP Kabuhayan Fund – (16.31%)
6. GSIS Mutual Fund – (21.40%)
7. Philam Fund, Inc. - (22.28%)

Foreign Currency-denominated Balanced Funds

• Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund – (3.25%)

Bond Funds (primarily invested in Peso debt securities)

1. Cocolife Fixed Income Fund – 3.05%
2. ALFM Peso Bond Fund – 2.56%
3. Philam Managed Income Fund – 1.31%
4. First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund – 1.21%
5. Ekklesia Mutual Fund – 0.88%
6. Philequity Peso Bond Fund – 0.61%
7. Philam Bond Fund – (0.04%)
8. Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund – (0.20%)
9. Legacy GS Fund – (1.26%)
10. Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund – (3.86%)
11. Prudentialife Fixed Income Fund – (4.60%)

Foreign Currency-denominated Bond Funds

1. ALFM Dollar Bond Fund – 2.29%
2. ALFM Euro Bond Fund – 0.59%
3. Philequity Dollar Income Fund – 0.24%
4. Grepalife Fixed Income Fund Corp. – (0.06%)
5. Grepalife Dollar Bond Fund – (0.37%)
6. Philam Dollar Bond Fund – (0.96%)
7. AIG Global Bond Fund Phils. – (1.26%)
8. MAA Privilege Dollar Fixed Income Fund – (1.79%)
9. Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund – (2.98%)
10. MAA Privilege Euro Fixed Income Fund – (6.09%)

Money Market Funds (primarily invested in short-term Peso securities)

1. Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund – 1.55%
2. Legacy TD Fund – (1.26%)
3. ATR KimEng Money Market Fund – (5.64%)

* Figures in (xxx) denote a loss. Mutual funds above are ranked from the “best” performers to the “worse” performers in terms of return. If all funds in a certain category are experiencing a decline in value, the one with the least loss is considered the “best” performer.

All figures taken from the Investment Company Association of the Philippines website (www.icap.com.ph).

To learn more about mutual fund investing, visit the Mutual Funds section of this site.

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