Closed-end funds in Cluj rock the BSE

Closed-end investment funds managed by Cluj-based companies have achieved yields of up to 104.3% over the last 12 months, while the BET stock exchange index increased by 32.3% during the past year. The closed-end investment fund FAPT, managed by Cluj-based Globinvest, experienced a 104.3% yield over the last 12 months and placed over 23.8% of its 13.3 million-RON assets on the Stock Exchange. BT Invest, a closed-end fund managed by Cluj-based BT Asset Management, reported a 102.6% surge in the last 12 months and invested 98% of its 9.2 million-RON assets on the Stock Exchange. Cluj-based STK Financial, the private investment fund manager for STK Emergent, derived a 74.7% yield from its fund. Walter Blaj, deputy general manager of Globinvest, said the FAPT fund’s yield is partly due to the fact that it can adopt a more aggressive investment policy compared with an open-end fund. As for closed-end investment funds, the investment is not restricted to a limited number of issuers and can have investment portfolios that consist of two or three issuers. Concentrated investments can bring higher yields, but the risk is also higher. Closed-end investment funds have a larger amount of liquidity compared with open-end funds, without there being a risk of sizeable exits, according to Radu Hanga (photo), president of BT Asset Management. The minimum investment in closed-end funds stands at one fund unit, whose value can range from 4,000 RON, in the case of the FAPT fund, to 10,000 RON, in the case of BT Invest.