The fund aims to mirror Lombard Odier’s discretionary portfolio management strategy for its private clients. It has a return target with a risk budget, and is not driven by reactions to changes in the political, economic and market backdrop, according to a statement from Lombard Odier.
The firm did not name the multi-asset fund or provide further product details.
“This fund launch represents the first investment vehicle in the Philippines to utilise the risk-based investment methodology, which suits clients seeking to limit volatility in their portfolios,” Robert Ramos, head of trust and investment services group at UnionBank, said in the statement.
The fund should be attractive to private clients, especially since investors in the Philippines have limited access to US dollar investment funds, he added.
The launch of the multi-asset fund follows the announcement from the two firms in March that they were co-developing two fund products, as reported.
The firms were expected to launch the UnionBank Capital Accumulation Fund and a “less aggressive fund”. At the time, Vincent Magnenat, Lombard Odier’s head of private banking for Asia, told FSA that the second fund was still being finalised ahead of the launch of both funds.
It is not clear whether the multi-asset fund is different from UnionBank Capital Accumulation Fund and the less aggressive fund.
FSA sought more information from Lombard Odier, but the firm did not reply in time for publication.
Lombard Odier and UnionBank first started their relationship in August 2016, according to the statement. Besides the Philippines, Lombard Odier has forged alliances with other firms in the region, such as Kasikornbank in Thailand and partnerships in Japan, Australia and South Korea.
Globally, Lombard Odier manages around $230bn in client assets as of the end of 2016, according to the statement.
UnionBank offers 13 unit investment trust funds (UITFs) to its clients, according to information on the bank’s website. Two of those UITFs are targeted to HNWIs, both of which are fixed income products that invest locally.
Both funds, which were launched in July 2016, managed around PHP 1.06bn ($21.1m) as of the end of June, according to the fund factsheets.
