The Sun Life Prosperity Funds, a unique family of mutual funds offered by Sun Life Financial, more than doubled its pace of growth on its second year in the Philippine market.

As of April 30, 2002, Sun Life Asset Management Company, Inc. (SLAMC), fund manager and principal distributor of the Sun Life Prosperity Funds, had Php 1.8 billion in total assets under management, a 171% growth year-on-year.

Only two years old, the Sun Life Prosperity Funds, consisting of the Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund, the Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, and the Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund, now ranks as the third largest in the Philippine mutual fund industry.

Considering the generally low level of awareness about mutual funds in the country, breaching the Php 1 billion mark in total assets under management in its first two years of operations can be rightfully considered a major milestone for the Sun Life Prosperity Funds.

SLAMC president Rolando Robles believes their early success in establishing the Sun Life Prosperity Funds as a major player in the industry can be attributed to team effort. "The employees of SLAMC as well as the licensed investment solicitors acted as one to propagate the merits of mutual fund investing, thus contributing to the initial success achieved by the company," he said. It is interesting to note that although the number of new accounts continuously increased on its second year, the bulk of the increase in total assets under management can be traced to subsequent investments of existing clients. "Many of them, after seeing favorable results in their investments, realized the merits of mutual funds as a worthy investment vehicle. Hence, they added to their portfolio and transferred more of their investments from other vehicles to the Sun Life Prosperity Funds," said Robles.

While the last year was marked by certain destabilizing sociopolitical events such as unabated kidnappings in Southern Philippines and the September 11 tragedy, Robles said the SLAMC team managed to remain focused on their strategy for growth.

"Investors will always react to events that affect the local and global economic environment. Market conditions will dictate the investment vehicle of choice in a given cycle. Our advantage is that whichever way the economy goes, the Sun Life Prosperity Funds has an investment vehicle that will suit the needs of long-term investors," Robles explained.

Mutual funds cater to a broad range of investors. Each type of fund - bond, equity, or balanced - and its various combinations can form an investment portfolio that satisfies the long-term financial goals of different investors.

Regular savers who are preparing for their future can benefit from the potentially higher long-term gains from mutual funds. Individuals as well as institutions with large investment funds benefit from the diversification and return enhancement that mutual funds can offer.

In its first two years, the Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund has been the best selling mutual fund of SLAMC. "This reflects the current sentiment of local investors - a strong bias for capital preservation while making their money earn. In a sense, it shows that the investing public still needs to be comfortable with higher risk but higher return investments like the Sun Life Prosperity Balanced and Philippine Equity Funds," Robles said.

While local investors remain cautious with their funds, Robles believes there will be more people who will consider equity investments in their portfolio "as the economy improves and the stock market goes into a bullish cycle."

Going forward, investors will be happy to know that the Sun Life Prosperity Funds will launch another fund - the Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, "in line with (the Sun Life) commitment to provide solutions to the various investment needs of Filipinos."

The Sun Life Prosperity Funds can be purchased through more than 250 licensed investment solicitors who can help every investor craft a viable investment and risk protection program that is tailored and responsive to the investor's needs. Robles promises to further increase the number of licensed investment solicitors to make the Sun Life Prosperity Funds even more accessible to the investing public.

With such focus and determination, the Sun Life Prosperity Funds can be expected to make a consistent tradition out of its increasingly admirable year-on-year growth.