By Lailany P.
Gomez | Posted on Jun. 20, 2013 at 12:01am
[
manilastandardtoday.com ]
State-run
Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund plans to invest an initial P5
billion in the stock market, as it explores more investment opportunities amid
expanding membership base, its president said Wednesday.
Pag-IBIG
president and chief executive Darlene Marie Berberabe said if the plan pushed
through, the fund would initially invest P5 billion in the stock market to
“test the waters.”
“We have no
restrictions where to put our money for investment. But right now most of our
investments are in government securities. Although we also have no restriction
to invest in equities or the stock market, so that is something we’re also
considering,” she said.
She said at
least 85 percent of the fund’s total investment was currently invested in
government securities, while the remaining 15 percent was in cash or in
provident funds.
Berberabe
said the Finance Department encouraged the fund to put their money in
government securities, since there was no risk to default in the debt
instruments.
“It is
encouraged in the sense than if we invest in other than government securities,
we must get first the approval. The principle behind it is for us not to take
so much risk or gamble on other instrument, because we have to retain the
savings to our members. So, what I’m saying is that since we’re not restricted
to invest in other instrument, we’re studying it right now,” Berberabe said.
She said the
fund was currently in talks with different fund managers, but declined to name
them.
“What we plan
now is to outsource it, get a good fund manager, because I recognize it’s not
our competency. We’re talking with different fund managers. We’re in that
process. We will come up with accreditation parameters. But of course the
standards should have to be high,” Berberabe said.
Pag-IBIG
Fund’s investment income yielded 8 percent year-on-year as of end-2012.
The Pag-IBIG
board approved a P9.28-billion dividend to be credited proportionately to
members’ accounts.
Berberabe
attributed the higher dividend to income earned from the fund’s housing loan
and multi-purpose loan programs, as well as income from cash and investments
and other miscellaneous income.
The amount
was 9.31 percent higher than the P8.49 billion posted year ago.
It translated
to 4.17 percent and 4.67 percent dividend rate for mandatory members under
Pag-IBIG I and those with voluntary savings accounts under the Modified
Pag-IBIG 2 program, respectively.
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