The key to the mutual fund market development is the managers’ capacity to explain these products to their customers and guide them in choosing the right investments, believes Mihai Ion, chairman of Raiffeisen Asset Management, which manages assets worth above 100m euros.
"Part of the public is still wary of mutual funds in the wake of losses suffered during the SAFI or FNI scandals, which means that our ability to explain to our customers that legislation has now been aligned to European standards and that investor protection stipulations no longer allow for the emergence of such situations will be crucial. Also, credibility will be boosted by the presence of major banking institutions on the market through their own companies," Ion says.
The first efforts made by managers jointly with banks in charge with fund distribution are starting to bear fruit. RAM-managed funds raised over 250m RON from investors in H1, accounting for around 40% of overall net subscriptions on the market. The bulk of the increase was generated by Raiffeisen Monetar, a fund launched in September 2008, with net assets topping 350m RON at present. Raiffeisen Monetar in late June had almost 7,000 investors, with an 8.2% return in the first six months of the year.
"Even the investors that initially were more cautious and started small have returned and raised their investments. Around one third of the investments worth less than 250 RON were lifted to an average of above 6,000 RON in less than three months," explains Madalina Teodorescu, the executive in charge with retail sales and distribution at Raiffeisen Bank.
This year, managers have bet strongly on the potential of monetary funds, taking into account the investors’ low risk appetite and the impulse to save, which comes with every crisis.
"The monetary funds’ stability is appreciated during this period of high risk aversion. The appealing returns and the possibility of withdrawing invested sums at any moment are making the monetary fund accessible by all client categories," Mihai Ion feels.
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