GSIS’s ‘Kinabukasan Fund’ posts highest yield among mutual funds

State-owned Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said Kinabukasan Fund, its mutual fund arm, posted an industry-high return on investments of 24.83 percent as of Nov. 8.

GSIS said this is the highest return among all mutual funds currently registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The GSIS Kinabukasan Fund is a balanced fund officially registered as GSIS Mutual Fund Inc. with the SEC.

A balanced fund is a type of mutual fund that combines a stock component, a bond component and sometimes a money market component in a single portfolio.

The GSIS said that for those with an investment of P5,000 in the Kinabukasan Fund at the start of the year, that investor has already earned P1,241.50 for his investment as of last Thursday.

“This is a clear indication that the GSIS Kinabukasan Fund is the best mutual fund in the market today,” said GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia.

The GSIS Kinabukasan Fund’s portfolio mix is divided between equities (65.63 percent) and fixed income instruments (34.37 percent), the agency said.

In 2006, it posted a staggering 43 percent annual return on investments.

GSIS Kinabukasan Fund’s net asset value per share (NAVPS) as of Nov. 8 stood at P2.17. NAVPS is the value of a single unit of a mutual fund.

Philam Asset Management, Inc., a member of the Philam Group of Companies, is the fund manager of the GSIS Kinabukasan Fund.

The GSIS Kinabukasan Fund started commercial operations in 1998 when the GSIS wanted to set up a fund that will provide affordable investment options for government employees.

GSIS members and pensioners can invest for as low as P1,000 in the Kinabukasan Fund.

As of end-September 2007, the country’s mutual fund industry has recorded total assets under management of P87.5 billion.

At present, there are a total of 40 mutual funds in the country: eight stock funds, nine balanced funds, 19 bond funds and four money market funds.