Updated: June 1, 2016
A friend of mine is thinking of investing in mutual funds and interestingly, he found my list of Philippine mutual fund companies which I wrote a couple of years back.
He emailed me recently to ask if I could feature the different mutual funds that Sun Life Financial Philippines offers as he is leaning towards investing through them.
So I did some research and compiled the information below.
I hope you can find them useful.
But before we go on to the list of Sun Life Prosperty Funds, I would like to encourage you to read first these previous articles, specially if you’re new to the concept of mutual funds:
The Sun Life Prosperity Funds consists of seven funds, each one with different properties. The list below is arranged from the most conservative to the most aggressive.
Money Market Fund
Short-term Alternative
- Risk: Very conservative
- Investment Time Horizon: Short-term
- Objective: Provide liquidity and income; capital preservation
- Invests in: Peso denominated fixed income and other related securities of the Philippine government and commercial papers issued by corporations within the Philippines, certificates of deposits, and other short term instruments
GS (Government Securities) Fund
Prudence That Pays
- Risk: Conservative
- Investment Time Horizon: Short to medium-term
- Objective: Generate total returns consisting of current income and capital preservation
- Invests in: Government securities which are backed by the full force of the Republic of the Philippines
- 5-yr Return as of May 2011: 35.3%
Dollar Abundance Fund
Stable Growth in Dollars
- Risk: Conservative
- Investment Time Horizon: Medium-term
- Objective: Generate total returns consisting of current income and capital growth in US Dollars and other major world currencies
- Invests in: A combination of short term and long term fixed income instruments; also invests in government and blue chip corporate bonds
Bond Fund
Steady Step to Growth
- Risk: Moderately Conservative
- Investment Time Horizon: Medium-term
- Objective: Provide regular interest income and capital preservation
- Invests in: High-quality fixed-income securities issued and guaranteed by the Philippine government and issued by prime Philippine companies
- 5-yr Return as of May 2011: 28.5%
Dollar Advantage Fund
Access to World Markets
- Risk: Moderately Aggressive
- Investment Time Horizon: Long-term
- Objective: Capital growth
- Invests in: Dollar denominated fixed income instruments issued locally; may invest 20% in fixed income or equities issued globally
- 5-yr Return as of May 2011: 21.1%
Balanced Fund
Best of Both Worlds
- Risk: Moderately Aggressive
- Investment Time Horizon: Long-term
- Objective: Provide total returns consisting of current income and capital growth
- Invests in: A mix of high-quality debt and equity securities mainly of Philippine entities; may invest in non-Philippine investment grade issues.
Philippine Equity Fund
Aggressive Stance to Wealth
- Risk: High Risk for High Returns
- Investment Time Horizon: Very long-term
- Objective: Long-term capital appreciation
- Invests in: High-quality listed equities of Philippine entities with a diversified portfolio across sectors and issue sizes to provide moderate portolio volatility
All products are in Philippine Peso unless otherwise stated. The starting minimum investment to all Philippine Peso funds is P5,000, while it is $1,000 for all US Dollar funds.
Please note that historical performance is not a guarantee of future fund performance, just in case you’re deciding based on the stated 5-year return of the fund.
All fund information above was taken from various Sun Life handouts which I have in my possession and also, from the Sun Life Financial Philippines’ official website. Those who would like to learn more about them, can talk to a Sun Life Financial Adviser.
Hi, this article is very informative and timely for me. i’m looking for an insurance that can serve as retirement investment and also a protection for our children. we’re thinking of getting two kinds with different purpose (one for retirement and one for the kids which can be used for their schooling or when something happened to us)
which of the above do you think is applicable to us?
when you say “5-yr Return as of May 2011”, does that mean we have to stay with the said investment for 5-years? or we pay in 5 years?
thank you very much for accommodating a newbie question.
Hi miss_saigon,
For retirement that can serve as insurance you should be looking for participating endowment products. All insurance companies have this. You pay for a certain period and will get all your money back together with dividends upon maturity.
If you want something that the kids can use for schooling which will also serve as insurance, you can check out VUL or variable universal life products of insurance companies. These are investment funds with life insurance components.
Contact your favorite life insurance agent for more details but always try to compare products of different insurance companies before you buy. They will always try to tell you that they are the same but they are not. You should check out for yourself.
I have sunlife Mutual Fund and I also have Philamfunds.Philamfunds is better than sunlife in terms of returns and service!
@miss_saigon
if you are looking for an investment product for your retirement and for your kids’ protection, i think it’s better to get an insurance coverage. i am sure that there are a lot of insurance companies out there that can cater you with a wide variety of products that would suit your needs. better ask for a variable insurance product wherein it works both ways (insurance and investment).
the above products are mostly for investment purposes because they are mutual funds. in a way, you can use them as insurance coverage but i think there are some special features an insurance product has as compared to a mutual fund.
as for the “5-yr return as of May 2011”, it means that if you placed an investment on the 1st yr and stayed with your investment for 5 yrs straight, you will get the above stated rate of return. but if you placed a certain amount on the 1st, then on 2nd or on the 3rd yr, of course, you will get a different rate of return.
@starlight
I have metrobank uitf and the performance is also quite impressive. maybe i should also try philamfunds. thanks for the info.
hope you could also visit my blog guys http://www.myquestforriches.com/
just my two cents
desertman
Before, I didn’t know how much approximate returns I could earn from mutual funds. And this post right here, told me what I’ve been searching for. I so badly want to invest now but my current disposition can’t afford it. Need to save enough money first.
Hi, hope you can post the minimum initial invetment required as well. Thanks!
market is dropping at the moment, the bull market is ending, i think im going to wait for it drop and then invest.
the best time to invest would have been 2 years ago 2008 and then get out now.
with the looks of defaults in Europe and the US fiscal problems, its not going to be pretty.
ofcourse I have no experience in any of this and this is just what I have read
This article is very useful. In contrary to Andre’s post this year is not the best time to get out. What’s happening this year is not a major financial crisis and I believe that this is just part of the dips of the market.
I just wanted to ask about the risks involved in equity funds. what do you exactly mean by that? do you mean that You could loose “all” of your investment? or just a part of it? Could you enlighten me on that part sir Fitz. Thank you.
Hi Jade, no you will not lose all your money, just a big part of it. Equity funds are risky because the price can quickly go up and/or down.
If you suddenly need money and your only option is to cash out your equity fund, then you might end up selling it at a lower price than you initially bought it.
The risk usually lessens if you can afford not to touch your investment for many years, because as a managed fund, it will most likely go up in the long term, usually after 5 years or so.
Hi Fitz, it’s a pity I discovered your blog only recently, I learned a lot already just after reading one article. Is it possible for you to post the top performing investment companies in the phils (maybe you can send via email hehe)? Is it better to invest in different companies instead of one? I’m still confused between Mutual & Bond Funds, both have low, medium and high-risk types right? Should I choose Mutual or Bond if I’d like to invest in each type? Then there’s UITF, where does this fit in? What I’m only sure of now is that I don’t want to invest in stocks/equity fund. Your response will definitely help me get started. Thanks!
Hi Fitz, upon spending more time reading your other articles, I’m happy to report that most of my queries have been answered. I guess for now I’m curious on the recommended investment firms (I’m feeling some of those you featured are potential runner-ups? hehe). Thank you again.
Hi Joan, thanks for finding my blog helpful. Moreover, as much as I want to list the top performing investment companies in the country, I do not have enough resources to find those information.
However, personally, what I’d suggest is you look for investment companies whose offices will be convenient for you to go to – which is what I’ve done – most if not all of the featured companies here are those whom I’ve had the convenience to know and not which I’ve made an effort to know.
Also, I believe in the idea of diversifying your investments, so going for different companies is something I’d support.
As for Mutual, Bond and UITF’s – they’re pretty much the same on the basic level. The main difference, in terms of performance, is the manager who is making the investment decisions.
For example, mutual fund company managers tend to have more aggressive investing strategies (in my opinion) because their clients are more investment savvy and would want above average results. They understand the risks and will not blame the company if their investment performs poorly.
While UITF managers of commercial banks tend to be more conservative because their clients are usually less investment savvy people, plus they have the bank’s reputation to think of – which is known as a brand of security. Their clients will tend to blame them if their investments do not perform well.
I hope I was able to help – and welcome to my blog! 😀
Hi Sir,
May I ask how one mutual fund derived their NAVPU specially in Balance fund? I did search but could not find as easily explained as you, maybe you could illustrate and explain it clearer.Thank you!
Thank you very much!
thanks fitz, find your blog very useful and informative!
[…] Sunlife Mutual Fund: Money Market Fund and Government Securities Fund […]
Thanks fitz, this is what I’m looking for. I’ve been looking around to answer my questions regarding how can we earn in mutual fund. Before I wasn’t able to understand how it works. Anyway, my last question is how an OFW can open a mutual fund account?
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