Raiffeisen to launch mutual funds

Raiffeisen Bank Romania will enter the mutual fund market in the first quarter of 2006. Its management company, SAI Raiffeisen Asset Management (RAM) is to launch four products, suited to match a number of investor preferences. “Our goal through Raiffeisen Asset Management is to contribute to the development of the investment fund market as much as possible, and the arguments are related to management expertise and the advantages of being part of a powerful financial group, that is present in Romania and operates through a diversified territorial network,” stated RAM”s chairman, Mihail Ion. He added RAM would also benefit from the experience of Raiffeisen Capital Management (RCM), the entity within the group that handles investment management. The bank”s officials had initially estimated to enter the mutual fund market sooner, that is at the end of this year. ZF