UOB's New Fund Aims For Stable Long-Term Returns

Source : The Business Times, October 15, 2007

It provides exposure to Asian stocks and debt securities

TO help investors manage market volatility better, United Overseas Bank is offering a new fund called the United Asia Active Allocation Fund or Triple A Fund.

Targeted at investors in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, the Triple A Fund aims for stable long-term returns through active asset allocation.

By adopting a portfolio diversification strategy, the fund provides exposure to Asian equities, stock-related securities and debt securities.

'The Triple A Fund is designed for investors who want to maximise their returns under varying market conditions,' said Thio Boon Kiat, managing director and chief investment officer of UOB Asset Management (UOBAM), which jointly developed the fund with UOB.

'Unlike most balanced funds that stay within a pre-set asset allocation, the Triple A Fund is actively managed.'

It will tap into three Asian-focused funds that are managed by UOBAM - United Asia Fund, United Asian Growth Opportunities Fund and UOB Optimix Asian Bond Fund.

The United Asia Fund invests in shares listed or traded on the stock exchanges of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and other Asian countries.

The United Asian Growth Opportunities Fund invests in small capitalisation stocks and stock-related securities issued by corporations in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan), while the UOB Optimix Asian Bond Fund invests in high-yielding debt securities issued by Asian corporations, financial institutions, governments and their agencies.

Being traded on a daily basis, the Triple A Fund is designed to respond quickly to changes in market conditions and to maximise returns for investors' portfolio.

It aims to provide investors with a potential dividend of 5 per cent per annum of the net asset value per unit of the fund through regular quarterly distribution and there may also be capital gains, depending on its performance.

Eddie Khoo, executive vice-president of UOB's personal financial services, noted that the Triple A Fund taps on UOB's regional consumer banking network and UOBAM's expertise to offer wealth management solutions to customers in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

'Moving on, we will be offering investors in Malaysia and Thailand more options with regional product offerings that will be made available in Singapore through our regional consumer banking network in these countries,' Mr Khoo added.

For investors in Singapore, the minimum subscription amount for the Triple A Fund is S$1,000 or US$1,000.