Monday, November 5, 2007

ING, Citibank set to launch FIF gold fund

ING Funds (Thailand) and Citibank will launch a new foreign investment gold fund by the middle of this month.


The open-ended, 1.5-billion-baht ING Thai Golden Star Link fund would be open for subscription from Nov 12-22.


Maris Tarab, the managing director of ING Funds, said the new FIF would invest in structured notes with futures options linked to the Citigroup S&P Global STARS TR Index and the London Gold Market Fixing Ltd PM Fix. The weighting of the two indices is 50% each.


The structured notes would be issued by banks and their returns rely on gains of the two indices. The notes have credit rating of Aa2 or from AA-.


If the two indices fail to produce gains, investors are able to recoup their principal.


The Citigroup S&P Global STARS TR Index, developed by S&P and Citigroup, is based on investments in 25 stocks rated four and five stars by the two institutions.


Among the selected stocks, 40% each would be in US and European equities and the rest in Asia.




During the past six years, the index had seen returns of over 80%, outpacing the 68% return posted by the MSCI World index.


The London Gold Market Fixing Ltd PM Fix, created in 1944 to follow gold bullion prices, had a 12-month return of 20.69%.


''Gold is a valuable asset, which has a trend of rising prices driven by strong demand from the jewellery businesses in India, China and Middle East and those who buy gold for long-term investments,'' Mr Maris said.


According to the World Gold Council, gold demand during the first half of this year rose 11% in terms of quantity and 24% in terms of value, while new gold supply rose only 3% year-on-year.


During the past three years, Mr Maris added, the combined returns from the two indices were about 10% per year.


The ING Thai Golden Star Link fund would hedge its foreign currency exposure to reduce the risk of currency rate volatility

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