KAsset and Eastspring unveil fixed-income fund
Kasikorn Asset Management (KAsset) and Eastspring Investments, the US$140 billion (Bt4.8 trillion) Asian investment management arm of Prudential Plc, are co-managing a new Asian fixed-income fund in Thailand.
The fund’s initial public offering will be held from Tuesday until Monday.
The new fund – KAsia’s K-Afixed – seeks to benefit from the attractive yield of Asian bonds, robust economic fundamentals and the favourable currency outlook of key Asian countries, the companies said.
The fund aims to achieve a target return of between 3 per cent and 4 per cent per annum (in baht terms) to investors through an actively managed investment approach.
The fund has a policy to pay a dividend no more than twice a year.
KAsset and Eastspring said the fund was an “interesting alternative” for investors seeking to diversify their portfolios and gain attractive returns amid high-risk and highly volatile stock markets.
Focusing on investment in high-quality investment-grade Asian bonds, rather than only domestic bonds, the fund should yield attractive returns for investors, they said.
According to data from January 1 to January 31, Asian Local Bonds, mainly comprising bonds with an A+ rating on average, offered an annual yield of 3.7 per cent.
This return outclassed that of Thai corporate bonds comprising debt instruments with average rating of BBB and higher, which yielded 2.7 per cent per annum, said Vasin Vanichvoranun, KAsset executive chairman.
