BPI Wealth, the asset and wealth management arm of Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), has lowered the minimum investment amount for several of its trust funds in a bid to make investing more accessible to the public, especially to those just starting to build their portfolios.

Maria Theresa Marcial, BPI Wealth president and chief executive officer, says the move is aligned with the company’s commitment to promote financial inclusion in the country. “The company believes everyone deserves a chance to grow their wealth and secure their financial future. With lower minimum amount for UITFs, BPI Wealth is making investing easier and more inclusive,” she says. 

Effective June 1, the minimum investment amount of selected unit investment trust funds (UITFs) will be lowered to 1,000 pesos (US$17.9) from 10,000 pesos at present.

The funds covered by the lower minimum amount include BPI Invest Short Term Fund, Premium Bond Fund, Philippine High Dividend Equity Fund, Equity Value Fund, Philippine Equity Index Fund, Philippine Consumer Equity Index Fund, Philippine Infrastructure Equity Index Fund, Odyssey Philippine High Conviction Equity Fund, and US Equity Index Feeder Fund (PHP class). 

The company has also lowered the initial investment amount for some of its US dollar-denominated UITFs, from US$500 to US$100, effective June 1. These include the BPI Invest US Dollar Short Term Fund, Philippine Dollar Bond Index Fund, Global Bond Fund-of-Funds, and Global Equity Fund-of-Funds. 

The minimum investment amounts for the USD class of the BPI Invest US Equity Index Feeder Fund, European Equity Feeder Fund, Sustainable Global Bond Fund-of-Funds, Sustainable Global Balanced Fund-of-Funds, Sustainable Global Equity Fund-of-Funds, World Technology Feeder Fund and Global Health Care Feeder Fund will go down to US$100 from US$1,000. The Odyssey Asia Pacific High Dividend Equity Feeder Fund’s initial investment requirement will also go down to US$100 from US$5,000.

New investors can also fully open an account online through the BPI Online web portal or the BPI mobile app.

BPI Wealth has 950 billion pesos in assets under management as of end-March, up from 875 billion pesos at the end of 2022. It aims to cross the 1 trillion pesos mark by the end of 2023.