Unit Investment Trust Funds (uitf)

[Dr_PepPeR]

I need help guys. i have a few cash in excess that im planning on investing. maliit lang nmn. Let say im willing to invest 10k to 20k just to test the market. san ko mgandang ilagay? im willing to let it stay nmn ng long term e kc excess nga. Gus2 ko lng ung hindi nmn patalo kung mginvest ako kc kung gnun lng din e d s gmik n lng gastusin hehehehe. But kidding aside im dead serious. mtgal tgal n din kc ako ngwowork and feeling ko d gnun kbilis ung pglago ng pera ko s simpleng savings account lang. i just wanna try something else. Advise lang mga boss. Slamat.

 

Of course, I would suggest a UITF peso fund in one of the bigger banks. Due to the variety of UITFs that they manage, you can find one that will fit your investment amount. You don't have to stay too long in a UITF account. After the holding period (30 to 90 days depending on the UITF product), you can go out anytime. So far all the Peso Fixed Income UITFs have been doing rather well lately.

[loudchild]

Thanks doc. Coming from an expert on this (been reading ur posts and i find them very informative... d lng d2 s thread n 2 hehe) i think i'll go for the UITF n din. I'll open 1 with BDO.

[julz2006]

been monitoring this thread for a while now and it gets exciting every time..a couple of questions:could we know where the banks invest these pooled resources from us?would they tell us?...it's nice to diversify but if i will be investing on this or that uitf or even mutual funds how would we know they (banks,investment houses,etc.) don't invest the bucks on similar equities or bonds or any same investment opportunities?to make sure you are really "diversifying"?

 

just curious...cheers!

[golfer697]

doc, uitf ko with metrobank and bpi dati asked me to stay minimum of one year (mostly applies to all) and if i want to withdraw early, mataas binayaran ko (asar nga kasi wala na nga kinita yung pera, binawasan pa nila ng surcharges, etc.) kaya i'm burned na din.

 

 

They usually advise you to stay in for a minimum of 1 year but its your choice actually. Metrobank only charges you for pretermination if you withdraw before the lock in period of 90 days.

[Guest lene]

been monitoring this thread for a while now and it gets exciting every time..a couple of questions:could we know where the banks invest these pooled resources from us?would they tell us?...it's nice to diversify but if i will be investing on this or that uitf or even mutual funds how would we know they (banks,investment houses,etc.) don't invest the bucks on similar equities or bonds or any same investment opportunities?to make sure you are really "diversifying"?

 

just curious...cheers!

 

choose banks/institutions that are reputable and who believe in transparency in terms of reporting. the reputable banks do give monthly updates on the fund performance and where the money is invested in ( 80% in govt. securities,10% in preferred shares, etc).

[Guest lene]

They usually advise you to stay in for a minimum of 1 year but its your choice actually. Metrobank only charges you for pretermination if you withdraw before the lock in period of 90 days.

 

golfer697 is right. clients would be advised to stay for a minimum of 1 year ( even more for certain type of uitfs) so that they would be able to ride out any fluctuations in the prices if they have a long term view on the investment. you can actually withdraw after the holding period of the fund ( even before, but subject to fees for certain banks) but if market is against you when you withdraw, then you would have realized the loss instead.

 

before buying any uitf, try to understand the risks you are willing to take and find a specific fund that you would be comfortable with and will fit with your investment goals/periods.

[spadon]

Invested in a mix of 40% fixed income, 40% bond and 20% equity funds six months ago. The total fund returns 21%. Had I invested in a 60% equity, 20% fixed income and 20% bonds then, returns would have been something like 43%. Darn!

[julz2006]

choose banks/institutions that are reputable and who believe in transparency in terms of reporting. the reputable banks do give monthly updates on the fund performance and where the money is invested in ( 80% in govt. securities,10% in preferred shares, etc).

 

..thanks so much,lene...will keep that in mind..i think it's bdo for me..if m not mistaken,witholding period is just 30days for their balanced fund some others(m keeping it minimal--just checking if things will work out fine--risk is ok,i know it's there..)so,will just see how it will go and take it from there..thnks..

[golfer697]

..thanks so much,lene...will keep that in mind..i think it's bdo for me..if m not mistaken,witholding period is just 30days for their balanced fund some others(m keeping it minimal--just checking if things will work out fine--risk is ok,i know it's there..)so,will just see how it will go and take it from there..thnks..

 

 

BDO's dollar UITF is constant at around 6%. Peso around 10%. Balanced fund is up & down, more fluctuations than metro.

[tombone]

I put my money in EBC and HSBC Equity fund for EBC is 30 day holding period and on HSBC is 15 day . On HSBC i need to have a buffer that will hold for 6 month then the rest i can move it on 15 day since i'm a premier member so they are more accomodating. For me BDO UTIF is slow moving upward but the risk is lower comparing my HSBC ING dollar fund is move faster almost 8-10% is the return .

[rdy1437]

I put my money in EBC and HSBC Equity fund for EBC is 30 day holding period and on HSBC is 15 day . On HSBC i need to have a buffer that will hold for 6 month then the rest i can move it on 15 day since i'm a premier member so they are more accomodating. For me BDO UTIF is slow moving upward but the risk is lower comparing my HSBC ING dollar fund is move faster almost 8-10% is the return .

 

 

Tombone, gaano ka na katagal nag invest sa HSBC? Ok ba? how much ang investment mo? I did some research on UITF before and found out that ING ang may pinaka magandang performance.Pero ang laki ng min investment nila so pinasa ako sa partners nila which is HSBC nga. Nung nag inquire naman ako sa HSBC, 500k ang minimun nila.by last quarter of this year siguro ako mag invest sa HSBC. pinag iipunan ko pa kasi yng 500k..

[tombone]

i invest in HSBC ING only this january, the return so far is good compare to my other uitf . Yes the initial is big and to get a better bargain one have to be premier member so that there is discount on the entrance rate.

[golfer697]

I put my money in EBC and HSBC Equity fund for EBC is 30 day holding period and on HSBC is 15 day . On HSBC i need to have a buffer that will hold for 6 month then the rest i can move it on 15 day since i'm a premier member so they are more accomodating. For me BDO UTIF is slow moving upward but the risk is lower comparing my HSBC ING dollar fund is move faster almost 8-10% is the return .

 

 

Hmmm... Will check out EBC & HSBC for the Equity funds. Will stick with Metro for my dollar funds since I'm getting more than 10% anyway!

[Dr_PepPeR]

choose banks/institutions that are reputable and who believe in transparency in terms of reporting. the reputable banks do give monthly updates on the fund performance and where the money is invested in ( 80% in govt. securities,10% in preferred shares, etc).

 

If we are talking of UITFs here, the portfolio/asset allocations are required to be disclosed in all marketing materials of the Bank, such as 40% equities if it is a balanced/equity fund or maximum of 20% in cash if it is a fixed income fund. Furthermore, Under BSP Circular 447, UITFs are required to do a quarterly disclosure to their subscribers, usually made available thru the bank's branches, which shows the present holdings as well as the allowable holdings of the UITF plus all charges and expenses that is borne by the fund. Lene is correct in that the bigger reputable banks do this monthly, sometimes on a weekly basis, and some even make these available on their webpage. But generally, even before you make a subscription, you have the right to know where the funds are currently invested, and what other instruments or securities they are allowed to invest in. Just go to the branch or you can ask their Trust Department directly.

[golfer697]

nung 2005, i got 26% sa dollar placement ko with metrobank/axa.

 

grabe, ang ganda mag-invest nun sa uitf.

 

 

Correct!!! But those days are gone - sadly!!! Woe to those who are living on interest! Double whammy pa! Low returns na & the dollar keeps going down!

[julz2006]

If we are talking of UITFs here, the portfolio/asset allocations are required to be disclosed in all marketing materials of the Bank, such as 40% equities if it is a balanced/equity fund or maximum of 20% in cash if it is a fixed income fund. Furthermore, Under BSP Circular 447, UITFs are required to do a quarterly disclosure to their subscribers, usually made available thru the bank's branches, which shows the present holdings as well as the allowable holdings of the UITF plus all charges and expenses that is borne by the fund. Lene is correct in that the bigger reputable banks do this monthly, sometimes on a weekly basis, and some even make these available on their webpage. But generally, even before you make a subscription, you have the right to know where the funds are currently invested, and what other instruments or securities they are allowed to invest in. Just go to the branch or you can ask their Trust Department directly.

 

...thanks doc peps..yeah,,was actually at their branch trying to have a go with it but the good lady from that dept(this is bdo in aurora) flatly said they cannot divulge infos like those(where the funds are being invested)...i argued no more...(and invested no more)..will look for something else..

Edited May 10, 2007 by julz2006

[spadon]

that's my problem din with bdo kaya i didn't invest with their uitf dati. bpi told me the breakdown of their investments kaagad, metrobank/axa told me sa foreign equity naman (since dollar-dominated uitf sya) kaya may trust factor din.

 

hindi ka din naman mag-iinvest sa isang bagay na hindi mo alam kung saan lang nila ilalagay yung pera mo.

Banks regularly report their respective UTIF's performance which you can access in their websites and fund performance reports (usually quarterly reports) in brochures at the banks branches. Fully disclosed are the asset classes and portfolio mix of each UTIF, including the Fund Manger's discussion of the Fund's strategy for the past reported period and Fund's outlook for the immediate future, historical NAVs, etc.

 

Not surprised bank personnel not helpful, I've had the same experience - most seem to have a hazy knowledge about this. Pity!

[spadon]

Anybody knows the latest developments on REITs? Seems the right environment to launch REITs is now...........

[golfer697]

...thanks doc peps..yeah,,was actually at their branch trying to have a go with it but the good lady from that dept(this is bdo in aurora) flatly said they cannot divulge infos like those(where the funds are being invested)...i argued no more...(and invested no more)..will look for something else..

 

 

I find BDOs tellers & most of their managers to be below par. And their priority is servicing the sales ladies payrolls & their tenants! Most of them don't understand what they are doing!!! I try talking with the marketing officers who are even more informed than the managers!! Maybe the tellers are glorified sales clerks from SM??? I even reported one bank manager to the head office!! However the same thing is true for other banks too. I tried to open a UITF account with BPI & they discouraged me from doing so, saying it was too risky. They tried to shift me to their 5 year locked in time deposit!! Metrobank keeps aggressively promoting their AXA & tries to shift clients there but the returns so far are lower than UITFs.

[Guest lene]

Sadly, I think the problem is that there are some bank frontliners who are not too knowledgable regarding the product or find the internal procedure of processing the transaction tedious so they "discourage" clients from investing in UITFs. Normally, it is the marketing officers who are trained to sell the product correctly; even some branch managers are not very knowledgable about the product. Which in itself is a pity since their actions tend to reflect on the bank itself. Like in the case of julz2006, the action of the BDO personnel will create a bad impression on BDO for him.

 

If you are not satisfied with the bank person you are dealing with ( usually the frontliner), request that you talk to an officer about the product. They should be able to address all your inquiries and concerns. Also, do your own research by checking out the website of the bank.

[julz2006]

..copy....thanks lene..tc!!

[CodenameV]

I've tried Metrobank and BDO's UITF and I find BDO to be much more transparent. BDO's trust department issues two advisories weekly (UITF and Economic outlook) aside from their monthly summary that's available on their site. Don't rely on the branch personnel for advice as they are not trained or experienced in knowing the ins and outs of such instruments, rather, they just know how to do the processing. You can talk to BDO's trust department for questions.

[freezer]

yup, this happend to me dati. the lady was aggresively telling me to invest invest invest in the AXA dollar uitf, since i have a metrobank dollar account naman daw, that it doesn't earn me that much in interest and the usual bullshit they tell you. napa-oo naman ako since maganda yung babae.

 

bad trip hindi maganda yung investment ko, tsk tsk tsk

 

I once worked in these kind of investment / financial services and i would say that those are variable insurances and not UITF. The returns are low simply because a part of your investment were paid for life insurance which is only 25% of your total investment and not 125% (That was when I handle those kind of services) Thus, you're principal is a bit lower to be traded. On a lighter side, Variable Life is much better specially when God ask you to be with him this year. :hypocritesmiley: Bottomline, try to diversify your investments and guage your risk factor. Peace!

Edited May 15, 2007 by freezer

[Dr_PepPeR]

guys, what do you think of the ltncd offered by bpi? kausap ko kasi yung manager ng bpi kanina sa f. castillo malapit sa office namin and he was offering it to me. nasa 6% ata ang interest per quarter and other things. sabi ko padalhan nya ako ng literature para mapag-aralan ng mabuti.

 

looks like the same banana if you ask me.

 

The rate for the BPI Long Term Negotiable Certificate of Deposit is 6.125 per annum, interest payable every quarter to the holder. Good enough rate if you are an individual and hold it to maturity to get it tax-exempt. But it is competing against the BSP Special Deposit Account which is giving 8.0% gross per annum for 184 days. BPI will have to really push their LTNCDs to their clients.

[Dr_PepPeR]

ganun na pala kataas ang mga sda ngayon? kelan issue date po nito and minimum amount for investment?

 

thanks a bunch!

 

To avail of the BSP's SDA, you have to go through the Bank's Treasury Department if they can accommodate you. If not, you will have to go through the Trust Department and open a trust account. It depends on each bank on what the lot sizes will be, but for the BSP SDA itself, the minimum lot size is P10 Million and multiples of P1 Million thereafter.

 

The SDA was opened for trust accounts last May 10.