Best Philippine Mutual Funds Of 2020 – Peso Lab
As we bid the year goodbye, how had the mutual funds in the Philippines performed?
Just like round-up of the top mutual funds in 2019, this article is a summary of the growth story of this investment.
Mutual funds: the year 2020 in review
Our lives were upended for the most part of the year. The pandemic reached our shores, and that forced millions to put their lives on hold. The government, regardless of what political side you happen to identify with, did what had happened elsewhere: shut down the economy to combat the threat of corona virus.
The stock market also made history. The circuit breaker was activated three times during the year. (A circuit breaker is the instance when trading is stopped temporarily.)
However, the year is not without its surprises. Converge made a spectacular debut on the exchange in what has been described as the “biggest IPO ever in history.” Ayala REIT was launched as the first first Philippine real estate investment trust. Merry Mart also had received a positive welcome from investors on its IPO.
Mutual funds had to navigate amidst this very challenging environment. Of 65 funds, 34 registered a loss (to be fair, no return was posted for Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. because it’s just been launched. More info to follow below). That’s three more than the 31 gainers while four posted double-digit growth.
| Total number of funds | 65 |
| Loss | 34 |
| Gains | 31 |
| Double-digit growth | 4 |
Indeed, one fund was successfully launched in what has been a depressing year. The Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. was launched on July 6, 2020. It is a feeder fund that is suitable for aggressive investors who want exposure to the global market. Its target fund is the exchange traded fund ACWD LN Equity and it tries to mimic the returns of SPDR MSCI All Country World Index UCITS.
All figures in the succeeding tables are taken from PIFA. They’re accurate as of December 29, 2020, the last trading day of the local stock bourse.
10 best mutual funds in the Philippines 2020
Of the top 10 best mutual funds, there are two equities, four balanced, and four bond funds. In additions, six are invested in foreign securities.
Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund ended the year with a gain of 21.75% for its investors. It is followed by ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, the Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, and the PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, which make up the four funds that reported double-digit growth.
| CURRENCY | TYPE | FUND NAME | 1YR. RETURN(%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar | Equity | Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund | 21.75% |
| Dollar | Equity | ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund | 15.85% |
| Dollar | Balanced | Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund | 15.59% |
| Dollar | Balanced | PAMI Asia Balanced Fund | 10.65% |
| Peso | Bond | Soldivo Bond Fund | 8.05% |
| Dollar | Balanced | Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund | 6.65% |
| Peso | Balanced | ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund | 6.32% |
| Dollar | Bond | ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund | 6.14% |
| Peso | Bond | Philam Bond Fund | 5.94% |
| Peso | Bond | Philequity Peso Bond Fund | 5.93% |
Philippines’ best equities index mutual funds
Experts recommend index funds because they are passively managed and, depending on what they’re tracking, they try to produce the average returns of a specific market, industry, or asset.
The equities index funds registered negative returns. This is hardly surprising. The flagship Philippine Stock Exchange index was down 8.6% year on year. It dipped to 4,623.42 in March and recovered 54.4% to 7,139.71 on the last trading day.
FMETF stock has the lowest loss among all of them, which led the group posting 8.56% in the red. It is followed by the Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. and the Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc.
| FUND NAME | 1YR. RETURN(%) |
|---|---|
| First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund | -8.56% |
| Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. | -8.61% |
| Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. | -8.81% |
| Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund | -8.84% |
| PAMI Equity Index Fund | -9.21% |
| Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund | -10.96% |
| First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund | -11.39% |
10 best equities funds (PH mutual fund)
Equities funds that are described here these are all actively managed funds. Generally, their fees are relatively higher than the index funds.
Below, you see Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, and Philequity Alpha One Fund led the group. Out of 16 funds, 13 are in the red and only two posted double-digit ROI (return on investment).
| CURRENCY | FUND NAME | 1YR.RETURN(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar | Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. | 21.75% |
| Dollar | ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. | 15.85% |
| Peso | Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. | 5.38% |
| Peso | MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. | -2.60% |
| Peso | ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. | -5.03% |
| Peso | First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. | -7.72% |
| Peso | Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. | -8.76% |
| Peso | Philequity Fund, Inc. | -9.07% |
| Peso | United Fund, Inc. | -9.66% |
| Peso | Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. | -10.02% |
10 best balanced funds (Philippine mutual fund)
Balanced funds are a mix of equities and fixed income. They are designed to ride on the high-risk, high-reward profile of stocks while also achieving the modest returns, comparatively lower risk that are offered by fixed income securities.
For 2020, 8 funds out of 17 registered red bottom line, 9 gained, and only two posted more than 10% returns. In this list, Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund is the best, and PAMI Asia Balanced Fund and Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund come next in ranking.
| CURRENCY | FUND NAME | 1YR.RETURN(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar | Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. | 15.59% |
| Dollar | PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. | 10.65% |
| Dollar | Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. | 6.65% |
| Peso | ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. | 6.32% |
| Peso | ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. | 4.24% |
| Dollar | Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. | 2.54% |
| Peso | Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. | 0.33% |
| Peso | NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils. | 0.05% |
| Peso | PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. | -0.39% |
| Peso | First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. | -0.49% |
10 best bond funds (mutual fund)
Bond funds are funds that are invested in government bonds (debts that are issued by the republic) or in corporate bonds (debts that are issued by companies). They are considered fixed income; they earn through the interest that is paid out in fixed, periodic interval.
Out of 19 funds, 16 are gainers and 3 reported a loss.
In the Philippines, the top 10 bond funds are Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc., ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc., and Philam Bond Fund, Inc.
| CURRENCY | FUND NAME | 1YR.RETURN(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Peso | Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. | 8.05% |
| Dollar | ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. | 6.14% |
| Peso | Philam Bond Fund, Inc. | 5.94% |
| Peso | Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. | 5.93% |
| Dollar | Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. | 5.50% |
| Peso | Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. | 5.15% |
| Peso | Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. | 4.07% |
| Peso | First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. | 3.98% |
| Peso | ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. | 3.69% |
| Dollar | Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. | 3.42% |
Best money market funds (mutual funds)
Invested in another type of fixed income instruments, money market funds hold debt issues that have a term of 1 year or shorter.
| CURRENCY | FUND NAME | 1YR. RETURN(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Peso | ALFM Money Market Fund | 3.20% |
| Peso | Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund | 2.56% |
| Peso | First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund | 1.76% |
| Dollar | Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund | 1.48% |
Conclusions
Missed the chance in earning passive income from the ones mentioned above? It isn’t too late. You can read how to invest from mutual funds? Better yet, here is how you can actually invest without paying the sales load.
Moreover, for those of you who already have an idea how they generally work and want to begin investing right away, you can reach out mutual fund companies through their contact information.
