BPI Asset Management and Trust Corporation, the wealth management arm of Ayala Corporation-owned Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), has rebranded into BPI Wealth.
The largest standalone trust corporation in the Philippines, BPI Wealth manages 875 billion pesos (US$15.807 billion) of assets as of end-December 2022.
Maria Theresa Marcial, president and chief executive officer of BPI Wealth, says the move is aligned with the company’s priorities to better connect with various client segments. “We recognize that our clients want a name they can trust to address their complex financial needs. They want a name they can trust to help grow their hard-earned money. They want a name they can trust so they worry less about their investments, so they can do more, explore more, and live more. That is our brand promise,” she says.
BPI Wealth also announced that it has won a 1 billion peso (US$18.06 million) mandate to manage the domestic equity portfolio of Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), also known as the Pag-IBIG Fund.
This brings BPI Wealth’s total managed fund for HDMF to 2 billion pesos, after the company was selected as one of five asset management firms to manage 1 billion pesos each in 2019 for the provident fund which offers housing support for Filipinos.
With the latest mandate, BPI Wealth now manages the biggest portion of HDMF’s equity investment portfolio outsourced to domestic fund managers. “Through this renewed partnership between Pag-IBIG Fund and BPI, we are given the opportunity to further contribute to nation-building by growing the funds that enable Filipinos to live their dreams of having their own homes,” Marcial says.
As the mandate is for a pure Philippine equity portfolio, BPI Wealth says it is well positioned “to seize opportunities in the equity markets as the domestic economy sustains recovery post-pandemic”.
Robert John Cosico, HDMF’s deputy CEO for support services cluster, says the fund has full trust and confidence in BPI Wealth. “The partnership between BPI and Pag-IBIG goes way back. We have experienced first-hand their passion for delivering excellent fund management and we have full trust and confidence that they will help us realize our vision of inclusive growth for every Filipino. We are excited to continue to benefit from their expertise,” he says.
As of end-February, HDMF reported a record-high release of 117.85 billion pesos in home loans to finance the housing needs of 105,212 members in 2022, a 21% increase from the 97.28 billion pesos released in the previous year.
