Manulife, StanChart offer mutual fund

JAKARTA: PT Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia and Standard Chartered (StanChart) bank will jointly launch a mutual fund that some expect could return about 12.5 percent per annum.

Eighty percent of the fund will be invested in government bonds and 20 percent in other money market instruments.

"However, as the interest rate on SBI (Bank Indonesia Certificate) is fluctuating, the 12.5 percent yield is not a guarantee," said Manulife's assistant vice president Naresh Krishnan on Wednesday. The yield will be paid monthly.

He added that the minimum investment was Rp 100 million (about US$12,000). "But investors can choose our monthly reinvestment option, which requires investors to pay only Rp 10 million initially and add the amount until it reaches Rp 100 million," he said.

Potential investors can buy the fund without having to pay any subscription fee. They can also redeem the investment with a redemption fee of 1.25 percent if they do so within the first year. If they do it after a year, investors do not have to pay any fee. --JP