Scotia bond fund beats one-year target in nine months
Published:Friday | September 3, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Scotia DBG Investments Limited is reporting that its regional bond fund has already surpassed its one-year subscription targets by more than 50 per cent, and has more than 1,000 investors on board.
At launch last October, the Caribbean Income Fund (CIF) set out to land US$20 million in funds under management, but last week Scotia DBG Chief Executive Officer Anya Schnoor said the fund "has grown tremendously this year" and is "now over US$30 million in nine months".
The fund was intended for investment mainly in Caribbean sovereign debt and was launched in a bid to boost revenue and diversify Scotia DBG's heavy reliance on interest income.
Brian Fraser, general manager of Scotia DBG Fund Managers Limited and vice-president of asset management for Scotia DBG Investments Limited, said since the launch last year, more than 1,000 investors have been added to the fund.
Fraser said that as at August 31, the total assets under management stood at US$32.26 million.
"At the time of the launch, investors had the need for a US dollar-denominated investment option as an attractive alternative to USD-denominated reverse repurchase agreements," said Fraser.
"The CIF was timely in satisfying this demand."
The dividend yield on the funds is four per cent, with the year-to-date returns a little over 10.66 per cent. The investment is tax free, which Fraser said is one of its attractive features.
The fund's asset class comprises 23.06 per cent government securities; 7.59 per cent government guarantees; 10.57 per cent corporate securities; 30.98 per cent cash and money market funds, and 27.8 per cent in other government issues, he said.