KTAM seeks to expand AUM by 15% with the help of money-market funds
KRUNGTHAI ASSET Management (KTAM) aims to expand its assets under management (AUM) by 15 per cent to Bt714 billion this year by launching new funds, especially money-market funds, to capture retail investors, said chief executive officer Chavinda Hanratan
She said the company had room to grow in the money markets as last year such funds were popular among retail customers who wanted to reduce risk amid interest-rate volatility.
Retail customers currently account for nearly 80 per cent of KTAM’s clients, and AUM from this segment represents up to 60-70 per cent of the total.
Last year, KTAM’s AUM grew by 4 per cent to Bt617.62 billion, which the CEO said was lower than the target of Bt680 billion because the stock market was not providing positive returns to fund managers.
However, she believes the company can meet its AUM growth target this year because of its money-market funds, which in 2015 surged by 65 per cent year on year to Bt98.20 billion.
Its long-term equity funds also expanded by 10 per cent and its provident funds grew by 12.6 per cent.
The company will focus more on launching money-market funds to tap retail customers, and will launch a new real estate investment trust (REIT) worth Bt2 billion midyear.
She said the company planned to launch a fund that invests in stocks in the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) as it has seen that those markets have more interest while the Thai stock market has remained volatile.
“The strategy this year is to diversify risk and expand investment in fixed-income funds and equity instruments in domestic and international markets. This year, we will set up our first fund to invest in CLMV, which we will aim at the stock markets in Vietnam and Laos,” she said.
KTAM’s overall returns on investment this year are expected to reach 3-6 per cent.
