KTAM bids to maintain share via launch of new products

  It plans to do this via an asset allocation strategy, increasing its communication with customers by providing more frequent market information and increasing investor awareness of their products while cooperating more with its parent firm, Krungthai Bank.
Chavinda Hanratanakool, KTAM chief executive officer, revealed that the firm had around Bt687 billion in assets under management in 2015, a 15 per cent or Bt92 billion year-on-year increase while 80 per cent of the asset increase related to retail investors and the rest institutional investors.
“We will maintain an aggressive growth approach this year through our existing strengths, and our money market fund and term fund are expected to continue with their expansions because we aim to increase our cooperation in active funds with Krungthai Bank even further in order to increase the number of our retail investors, which is our main target this year,” she said.
She also revealed that KTAM planned to introduce more mutual equity funds – no more than six – for investment in both domestic (mid and small caps) and foreign markets (mainly in Asia markets such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Asean) and the US.
She said the company would also introduce a Bt20 billion infrastructure fund that would be invested in the North Bangkok Power Plant in the first quarter and a Bt2 billion Real Estate Investment Trust fund to be invested in the Erawan Group.
In 2014, KTAM’s return on investment in equity funds was 16-18 per cent, which had outperformed the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s average return on investment benchmark of 15.32 per cent last year while its money market fund increased by 65 per cent (higher than the industry average of 23.3 per cent).
Chavinda said KTAM’s long-term equity fund expanded by 37.6 per cent (higher than the industry average of 26.7 per cent) and its retirement mutual fund had grown by 21.7 per cent.
Veera Vutthikongsirigool, KTAM senior executive vice president and chief investment officer, forecast this year’s fluctuation in the capital market would be higher than 2014 because of divergences in the policies of major economies.
He said this included market expectations surrounding an expected US hike in its policy interest rate this year, which KTAM believed would happen in July, the expected new round of quantitative easing in Japan and the Eurozone’s own version of quantitative easing, which KTAM expected to be this quarter.
It also included the intended slowdown of China’s economy, which needed a monetary policy to increase liquidity and the problem of non-performing loans in China’s real estate sector.

Main factor
“Divergence of monetary policy from major economies will be the main factor that is going to cause all money markets, including the exchange, bond, stock and commodity markets, along with capital flow to fluctuate throughout this year,” he said.
KTAM has maintained its prediction that Thailand’s gross domestic product will expand by 5 per cent in 2015 because the economy is expanding from a lower base of 0.7 per cent in 2014 and the expected increase in the government disbursement rate from 89 to 94 per cent.
The other factors are investment in infrastructure, lower oil prices increasing people’s purchasing power and exports expanding by 4 per cent, mainly as a result of exports to Asean countries.
Somchai Amornthum, executive vice president of the research department at KTAM, expects the Monetary Policy Committee to increase Thailand’s policy interest rate by 0.50 per cent in 2015.