How BCR Monetar became the biggest investment fund in Romania

BCR Monetar, the biggest investment fund in Romania, with over 1.5 billion lei in assets, has become over its three years in business the "piggy bank" of peasants, after they sell their harvest, of monasteries, which raise money for their wintertime wood, as well as a cash management instrument for small entrepreneurs.
Launched in the autumn of 2007, only a few months ahead of the start of the financial crisis, BCR Monetar grew in a year's time more than other funds could in ten years' time. BCR Monetar, managed by Erste Asset Management, had two major advantages: affiliation to the biggest bank in Romania - BCR and Romanians' need to shelter their savings from the financial crisis. Through BCR's branch network, BCR Monetar extended its reach all over Romania, managing to raise over 1.5 billion lei (over 350 million euros) after three years in business from over 67,000 individual and corporate investors.
"We managed to achieve our targets for the BCR Monetar fund very quickly and I would say the context of the past three years has helped us a lot: the financial crisis brought the risk appetite to a minimum, and persuaded Romanians to save. The high interest rates on bank deposits were another helping factor," said Drago[ Neac[u, president of management firm Erste Asset Management.
BCR Monetar has generated a 43% yield from its launch in October 2007 until the present, by mainly investing in bank deposits and T-bills. During the same interval, the BET index of the Bucharest Stock Exchange has lost 41%.