Mutual funds in the first nine months of this year saw an average 11.7% growth in the value of fund units, according to the National Union of Collective Placement Bodies (UNOPC), set against inflation of 5.8% over the same period.
The strong performance is primarily due to mutual funds with placements on the capital market (equity and diversified funds), which in the first three quarters logged average yields of 21%.
These benefited from the positive developments on the capital market, at a time when the BET index, which tracks the performance of the top 10 stocks on the stock exchange, increased by 42.9% over the same period.
On the other hand, mutual funds with placements in fixed-income instruments registered decreasing yields, amid the drop in interest rates on the monetary market. As a result, bond funds in the first nine months witnessed average growth of 7.7%, while monetary funds generated average yields of 5.3%, below inflation.
In September, mutual funds saw an average increase of 2.2%, while inflation was 0.6%. Last month was one of the best months of the year for equity funds and diversified funds, logging average yields of 6.9% and 5.2%, respectively.
The best performing fund in September was Napoca equity fund, which is managed by Globinvest, with 12% growth – close to that of the Stock Exchange, given that the BET index surged 12.5% last month. Napoca also has the highest weight of placements in stock in total assets, at 78.7%.
Napoca is among this year”s best performing funds, with a 24.3% increase in the value of fund units in the first nine months.
Globinvest also manages the Transilvania diversified fund.
The best performances over the first nine months of this year were achieved by the Omninvest equity fund, which is managed by SIRA, with a yield of 36.7%.
In September, Omninvest”s units gained 10.7%, while its net asset rose by 15.5%.
“The asset growth is due both to the higher value of the stock portfolio and to new subscriptions by customers. The lower interest rates, as well as the higher gains outlook amid the solid growth of the capital market, have generated higher interest in investments aimed at mutual funds,” said Dorin Danescu, SIRA general manager.
Of diversified funds, the best yield was registered by Integro, a fund managed by CA IB Asset Management, with an increase of 8.7% in September and 25.2% since the beginning of the year.
The total value of assets held by the 24 mutual funds now operating on the market amounts to about 376.9 million RON (almost 105 million euros), with the total number of investors close to 68,500.