KTAM joins Citibank in launching global bond fund, KTAM World Bond Fund

Monday 10 October 2011 11:16
Khun Somchai Boonnamsiri, Chief Executive Officer of Krung Thai Asset Management PCL., announced the company will launch the IPO of KTAM World Bond Fund (KT-BOND) during October 13th — 25th, 2011. KT-BOND on average will invest at least 80% of its Net Asset Value (NAV) in the master fund, Franklin Advisers, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments with $ 716.4 billion asset under management (as of August 31, 2011). The master fund’s investment objective is to maximize, consistent with prudent investment management, total investment return consisting of a combination of interest income, capital appreciation and currency gains.

Khun Somchai added that KTAM World Bond Fund is interesting because the master fund is not only rated "AAA" by Standard & Poor's, but it also holds a five-star ranking from Morningstar and a top ranking from Lipper for total and consistent return. The fund’s lead portfolio manager, Michael Hasenstab, is also named Morningstar's 2010 Fixed-Income Manager of the Year. The fund has very good track record as it has achieved superior risk adjusted returns against major stock indexes over various time periods. Moreover, bond is an important asset class that can help investors achieve more stable returns due to its lower risk.

The fund manager will consider using currency derivatives for the purpose of hedging against foreign currency risk to Thai Baht.