Do you want to invest in Mutual Funds? Is investing one of your new year’s resolution for 2020? To give you an idea what are the best ones to invest in for 2020, let’s take a look back at the top mutual funds in the Philippines for 2019.
Last 2018, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (as you can read in this article) showed a negative return. Thus for most of the mutual fund companies in the Philippines, the (year-to-date) returns were also negative. Equity funds went as low as (-)17% and their top performing fund at only (-)11%. While for balanced fund, the worst performing is at (-)11.98% and the top performing only at (-)8%. Please take note of the negative sign. Yes, equity funds and balance funds have negative (YTD) returns for 2018.
Only the bond funds showed a positive return at (-)3.42% for the worst-performing and at (+)4.99% for the top-performing (yehey, positive!). But for last year, 2019 at least we are now seeing more positive results in our mutual fund investments. So, here it is. The top 5 Mutual Funds in the Philippines for 2019 based on their year-to-date returns.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index Performance for 2019
Now before we look at the top 5 performing funds, let’s take a look at the bigger picture – how the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) looks like for 2019. By looking at the bigger picture, it will give you an idea how the funds are going to perform.
Important Term: The Philippine Stock Exchange Index is a group of 30 carefully selected stocks to represent the general movement or performance of the Philippine stock market.
As you can see in the graph above, the market is moving sideways. It started at around 7,500 went as high as around 8,400 and went up and down all the way to the end of the year. You could also see that within the year, you can see a (-)10% drop from the market. If you invested on the “lows” then you’d probably made money, but if your timing wasn’t that good, your investment could also potentially yield a negative return. Thus, learning to invest the right way is a must!
To simplify our ranking of the top mutual funds in the Philippines for 2019, we are taking into account only the year-to-date. YTD means the returns you get when you invested in the first trading day of the year 2019 and you check out your returns at the end of the last trading day of 2019.
You can also check out other performances of mutual funds based on their 1-year, 3-year or even 5-year returns. But then again, to simplify this article only the YTD is taking into consideration.
Important Disclaimer: past performance is not indicative of future results. In any investment there will always be risks involved. This article is for informational purposes only. Due diligence is still advised before going into any investments.
Top Equity Mutual Funds in the Philippines for 2019
| TOP | Fund Name | Year-to-Date Return |
| 1 | Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a | 5.72% |
| 2 | Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a | 5.63% |
| 3 | Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a | 5.25% |
| 4 | United Fund, Inc. -a | 4.86% |
| 5 | PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a | 4.58% |
Equity funds are primarily invested in the stock market. Since the PSEi is moving sideways, equity funds aren’t performing that much.
Top Balanced Mutual Funds for 2019
| TOP | Fund Name | Year-to-Date Return |
| 1 | PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a | 7.62% |
| 2 | Philam Fund, Inc. -a | 6.88% |
| 3 | NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a | 6.51% |
| 4 | Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a | 6.18% |
| 5 | Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a | 6.11% |
Now, the balanced funds are performing slightly better. Their funds are estimated to be composed of around 50% invested in the stock market (for a more aggressive risk-return approach) and 50% invested into corporate and government bonds (for a more moderate risk-return approach).
Top Bond Mutual Funds in the Philippines for 2019
| TOP | Fund Name | Year-to-Date Return |
| 1 | Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a | 11.54% |
| 2 | Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a | 11.18% |
| 3 | Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a | 10.47% |
| 4 | Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a | 8.16% |
| 5 | Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a | 7.38% |
The Bond Funds are the king for the year 2019. They are funds built for a low-risk appetite investor yet their returns can be pretty decent. Bond funds normally perform better when equity funds aren’t. But equity funds shoot up when the market is performing high. Thus, it is a good idea to have a mix investment portfolio.
Click here to see the full list of mutual funds performances for 2019
Source: Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA)
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