First Metro Asset launches new mutual fund

First Metro Asset Management Inc. (FAMI) launched on Wednesday the First Metro Consumer Fund, a mutual fund which tracks the performance of the First Metro Index on MSCI Philippines IMI.

FAMI president Augusto Cosio Jr. claimed the new mutual fund will allow investors to have “tangible” investments with “superior” returns.

“The First Metro Index, which we created with MSCI Inc., is meant to help Filipino investors multiply their investments with the guidance of a benchmark that captures the Philippine consumption-led growth story,” Cosio noted.

“With the rollout of the First Metro Consumer Fund, they now have a tangible investment product to where they can benefit from the superior returns brought about by the robust Filipino household expenditure pattern,” he said.

The Fist Metro Consumer Fund tracks mainly food companies which account for 42 percent of the total portfolio.

Apart from the food companies the fund consists of utilities (12 percent), transportation (11 percent), education (4 percent), restaurants and hotels (4 percent), and household equipment (4 percent).

The fund also tracks companies engaged in communications (3 percent), health (3 percent), recreation (2 percent), alcoholic beverages (2 percent), clothing and footwear (1 percent) and financial services (1 percent).

“The economic growth we’ve been experiencing relies heavily on consumer spending, which makes up about 74 percent of the Philippine GDP,” Cosio noted.

“Investing in the First Metro Consumer Fund is essentially investing in that major driver of our country’s growth,” he said.

FAMI is the fund management subsidiary of First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC). —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News