The assets of Stabilo monetary fund, managed by Pioneer Asset Management, witnessed a six-fold growth in September, amounting to 10.9 million RON (3.1 million euros).
"The increase in assets was mainly triggered by the entry of a foreign institutional investor that has been operating on the domestic market for a number of years," says Florin Dolea, chief executive officer with Pioneer Asset Management, the company that manages the investments of the Italian financial group, UniCredito. Dolea did not reveal the foreign investor's name.
The fund invests in fixed-income financial instruments, bonds, banking deposits and government securities, and is preferred by the foreign investors who bet on RON appreciation and who try to take advantage of the interest differences between RON and euro.
Apart from them, other local players also invested in the monetary fund, says Dolea. The ease with which investors enter and exit the fund makes it one of the most liquid monetary funds on the market, states Pioneer's chairman. The investors withdrew over 5 million euros in the first eight months of the year.
In late August, 90% of Stabilo's interests were invested in bonds. Now that the investors have re-entered, 80% of the financial resources are invested in banking deposits, 12% in bonds and 1% in government securities.
"Romanian financial market is not very sophisticated.
"It is still unable distinguish between monetary instruments with a twelve-month maturity and funds investing in fixed-income instruments, which offer an over one-year maturity," says Dolea.
He regards Stabilo fund as a circumstance-tied fund. The investors come and go depending on the situation on the market. Dolea argues the instability of the portfolio's structure is due to its small size.
"If the fund had larger assets, the portfolio would be more stable, an
