The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Tuesday Philippine-issued Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs) are now eligible to be accredited as Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) investment products.
These include UITFs with foreign-issued securities or fund investments, such as global feeder funds and fund-of-funds. They may qualify as BSP-eligible PERA investment products, subject to the central bank’s existing approval process.
Global feeder funds are local UITFs that allocate at least 90% of their assets to a single target fund outside the Philippines. Meanwhile, fund-of-funds are mutual funds with at least 50% of net assets invested in other collective investment schemes managed by different fund operators.
According to a BSP memorandum dated Aug. 20, the inclusion of these investment options would help PERA contributors diversify their investment portfolios. “This, in turn, supports the capital market development objectives of the PERA Law by broadening the range of available instruments and providing additional diversification opportunities, thereby contributing to improved price formation and more efficient portfolio allocation,” it said.
