Thursday, June 12, 2008

OSK-UOB fund that invests in global banks

BusinessTimes

OSK-UOB Unit Trust Management Bhd has launched a fund that will invest in leading global banks as it believes that the worst of the subprime crisis is over.

The OSK-UOB Global Capital Fund, which will invest up to 95 per cent of its net asset value in United Global Capital Fund (UGCF), could provide annualised returns of up to 20 per cent, its top official said.

"The market for the financial services sector has more or less bottomed out. There are more opportunities in global banks in emerging markets," OSK-UOB chief executive Ho Seng Yee said at a launch ceremony in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

UGCF is managed by Singapore's UOB Asset Management Ltd.

Its top holdings include US banks like Citigroup Inc, US Bancorp, and Bank of America as well as Britain's Barclays and HSBC.

"We are looking at the global market, equity and financial sector. We feel the market has a value and this is the focus time for us to launch the fund," Ho said.

Also present were UOB executive director John J. Doyle III and UOB-OSK Asset Management Sdn Bhd executive director Lim Suet Ling.

The OSK-UOB Fund has an approved size of 400 million units, priced at 50 sen each during the offer period, which runs until July 1. The initial investment amount is RM1,000.

"I think the fund should be fully subscribed within the next one or two months, after which, I would think to double it up to 800 units," said Ho.

Lim added that the fund, an open-ended one, could exceed RM1 billion, factoring in expected demand from investors as it invests in global banks.

"It is a high-risk fund as it's a full-equity fund focusing on one sector. We think the fund can grow because we are looking at world banks," she said.

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