Mutual funds post more losses

The Stock Exchange growth last year and the decline in the monetary market yields have pushed more and more mutual funds to invest in listed securities. Only six of the 21 open-end funds part of the National Union of Collective Placement Bodies (UNOPC) had not bought shares by the end of February. Under the circumstances, nearly half of the mutual funds on the Romanian market had not made any profit, but losses for their investors. The 15% listed securities in the total investments of the Oportunitati Nationale (National Opportunities) fund was enough to make its shares shed 2.6% in February. The net asset of the fund went down 35% during the same month, mainly because of the repurchase demands. The most significant shares the fund chose to buy are those of the Stock Exchange stars, such as Petrom. The shares of the oil company lost 10% of the trading price throughout February. ZF