KK fund goes for growth in wake of hike in staff
Kiatnakin Fund Management (KK Fund), formerly Siam City Asset Management, says it is ready to move at full steam to grow its business this year after recruiting additional staff to strengthen its operations.
It has also positioned itself as the firm with innovative product designs, it says.
This year KK Fund aims to increase assets under management (AUM) to Bt30.84 billion, a 55.35-per-cent jump over last year. It plans to launch 29 funds worth a combined Bt13.03 billion. These will include term funds, target funds, property funds and infrastructure funds.
What is now KK Fund had AUM of Bt19.88 billion as of last year. It was taken over by the Government Pension Fund midyear, after which the GPF sold a 60-per-cent share in the fund to Kiatnakin Bank, which diluted the GPF shareholding to 40 per cent.
KK Fund managing director Supakorn Suntarakit said that last year the fund recruited more staff to back up its operations. Now it is ready to grow strongly.
The recent merger between Kiatnakin Bank and Phatra Capital has also enabled KK Fund to expand its customer base quickly, given that Phatra has strong skills in investment banking and has various deals in place such as those in the property and infrastructure businesses. Kiatnakin Bank also has partnerships with four life-insurance firms, which will enable the fund to tap their customer bases.
Supakorn said that with this vast network, the fund could quickly expand its customer base by offering various products.
He added that the company would focus on tapping niche markets such as working people aged over 35 years, as they want to save for their retirement. He said he expected gross domestic product to grow this year by 2.8 per cent thanks to the anticipated recovery of the private sector from the flood disaster, coupled with the government’s planned stimulus packages.
He also expects that the SET Index this year will average 1,213-1,264 points, peaking at 1,300 and with its lowest level at 1,030.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand will yield return on investment of 20 per cent this year, but this is based on the assumptions that Europe’s economic situation is not exacerbated while the US economy picks up, which will see funds flow into Asia. he said.
