Investors withdraw over 60% of Premio fund's assets

Equity fund Premio, managed by Pioneer Asset Management, was left with assets worth just one million RON (277,000 euros), after investors withdrew 2 million RON (550,000 euros) from the fund, accounting for over 60% of its assets in May. Therefore, Premio, present on the market for over two years, has become the smallest investment fund on the market. The fund invests preponderantly in SIFs (Financial Investment Companies) and in shares included in the BET index (which gauges the performance of the 10 most liquid shares). “The decline seen by the equity fund’s assets was caused by the lack of promotion, the depreciation of the equity market and by the market’s regulatory framework, which allows investors to speculate,” said Florin Dolea, chief executive of Pioneer Asset Management, a member of the UniCredit Tiriac group. This is not the first time Dolea has said the investors’ fluctuations were of a speculative nature, and were encouraged by the fact that the value of the fund unit is calculated based on two or even three-day-old information. Premio was the worst performer in the industry last year, at a 2% annual yield, with Dolea blaming it on speculations. In the first five months of the year, Premio saw a minus 24% yield, while the equity funds’ yields ranged from minus 15% and minus 31%.