Sun Life Asset Management Company, Inc. (SLAMCI) has partnered with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) for its Auto-Invest program to provide convenience to more Filipinos who want to invest in mutual funds.
According to SLAMCI President Valerie N. Pama, the company will be partnering with more banks in the coming months to provide Filipinos easier access to the program. The Auto-Invest program allows one to invest funds straight from the person’s bank account to any of the mutual funds managed by SLAMCI without need to manually deposit money at partner banks.
“The key to reaping the benefits of investing is consistency, and this is why we want to help our clients make a habit out of it. One way to do that is by making it convenient for them to invest automatically. With Auto-Invest, they won’t need to be reminded to go to the bank and transfer money to their Sun Life Prosperity Fund accounts,” Pama said.
BDO Unibank Inc. is the initial bank partner of SLAMCI under the program, with BPI being its latest bank affiliate.
Pama explained the Sun Life Prosperity Funds have performed well. Fund performance as of September 30, 2016, show the Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund has yielded a 55.2-percent return for a 10-year range, while the same duration has brought the Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund a 125.5-percent return, and 179.2 percent for the Sun Life Prosperity Equity Fund.
According to Pama, Auto-Invest also serves as a good tool for building an investment fund, with an unpredictable market, she explained that it is advisable to start investing in the early stages.
“The market can be unpredictable, but it’s not about timing the market. What matters more is the time in the market, so the earlier we start building our investment fund, the better,” she said.
Pama said investing remains an ideal way of growing a persons money for the long-term.
The methods include saving funds for future priorities such as education, home purchases, or being ready for a comfortable retirement.
“By regularly investing, Filipinos can make their money work harder for them. If they make investing a habit and stay committed to it for the long-term, then they can find their way to prosperity and look forward to a brighter future,” she added.
In a separate interview, Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. President and CEO Rizalina G. Mantaring, said the various initiatives undertaken by the insurer aims to help attain the Rise Philippine Program goal of reaching a client base of 5 million more policyholders by the year 2020.
As of end-August, the insurer already has a client base of 1.7 million, an increase of 11 percent over a two-month period, from only 1.5 million in June.
Other initiatives include its partnership with 8990 Holdings Inc., wherein the company will provide housing bundled with life insurance and an investment component in the form of mutual funds, to its clients.
“[The partnership] is part of that, reaching 5 million Filipinos by 2020. We are really trying to find all the avenues to really reach all Filipinos because we really believe that if we want economic progress to continue and be carried to the future, then we have to bring the bottom of the pyramid up. If we do not, then at some point our financial growth is going to stop. Progress is hard to sustain if it is not inclusive,” Mantaring said.