Eastspring to lure investors to mutual funds

Indonesia’s booming mutual fund market.

Eastspring Investments plans to tap this through an equity and fixed-income fund for individual investors.

It set to be launched in the next two months.

Riki Frindos, Eastspring Indonesia’s president director, said that Indonesia is especially attractive because of the small number of mutual funds investors in the country.

Eastspring Indonesia is currently managing one equity fund: the Eastspring Investments Alpha Navigator, with total assets of Rp 31.3 billion or $3.2 million. Assets are up 6.6 percent since it was introduced on Aug. 29, but the fund has not been marketed to the public.

“We are still managing our own money, just in order to comply with regulations,” said Anita Abdulkadir, Eastspring Indonesia’s chief marketing officer.

She referred to a regulation from the Capital Markets and Financial Institution Supervisory Board (Bapepam-LK) requiring a mutual fund to gather at least Rp 25 billion in funds within 60 working days or be disbanded.

The company is now working to appoint two domestic banks as selling agents so that it can sell the investment products, making them more affordable to retail investors, Anita said.

She said the firm would introduce a fixed-income fund — with investments in bonds and mixed funds — by the end of this year.

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