BDO trust unit hits milestone P1 trillion assets under management

MANILA, Philippines — The trust arm of BDO Unibank Inc. achieved a milestone as assets under management (AUM) breached the P1-trillion level despite uncertainties brought about by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BDO senior vice president and trust officer Rafael Ayuste said the increase in the total market value of securities managed by the bank’s trust group could be traced to the 35 percent jump in its unit investment trust fund (UITF) business as of end-September.

Ayuste said clients see and appreciate the opportunities that the current market presents, potentially resulting in a significant growth in their investment returns as the market recovers.

“We saw the UITF volumes increase substantially despite the pandemic,” Ayuste said.

According to Ayuste, majority of the bank’s clients moved their funds to the relative safety and security of money market funds given the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown to the financial market.

“This way they are able to generate positive albeit lower returns, particularly during the height of the pandemic when there was so much uncertainty. We have likewise seen some long-term clients factoring in recovery and are taking the opportunity to buy more equities at current market prices which really presents great upside potential,” Ayuste said.

Even with the prevailing health crisis, BDO continues to embark on aggressive efforts to increase its penetration of the client base, to maintain if not to further increase its market share that is currently at 25 percent.

“We continue to enhance our product and service delivery to ensure ease of access and simplification of client experience,” Ayuste said.

UITFs are ready-made investments that allow the pooling of funds from different investors with similar investment objectives. These funds are managed by professional fund managers and are invested in various financial instruments such as money market securities, bonds, and equities that offer higher return than traditional bank deposit products.

BDO Trust offers various peso- and dollar-denominated UITFs intended to meet the diverse objectives and risk appetites of investors in terms of growing their portfolio earnings.