Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, FBN Capital, and Asset & Resource Management Limited (ARM) led the pack of fund managers with the highest assets under management (AUM), accounting for 85 percent in N741 billion total mutual funds, according to figures from Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
For the week ended May 24, Stanbic IBTC Asset, which has eleven different funds across seven asset classes, topped 23 others with N329.8 billion net asset value (NAV), representing 45 percent of the total mutual funds NAV.
A mutual fund is a company that pools money from many investors and invests the money in securities such as stocks, bonds and short-term debt.
The combined holdings of the mutual fund are known as its portfolio. Investors buy shares in mutual funds, and each share represents an investor’s part ownership in the fund and the income it generates.
Meanwhile a fund’s NAV represents the net value of an entity and is computed as the total value of fund assets less total liabilities.
FBN Capital Asset Management, a subsidiary of FBNQuest, emerged the second biggest fund manager, with NAV worth N173.4 billion, nearly half compared to Stanbic’s figure.
The fund manager controls six different funds across seven asset classes. Asset & Resource Management (ARM) trailed with N63.8 billion, with four funds.
FSDH Asset Management Limited and AXA Mansard Investment Limited also featured in the top five list of largest fund managers with AUM worth N38.4 billion and N25.9 billion respectively. While the former has three funds under its custody, the latter controls two.
The fund managers with the lowest AUM include PAC Asset Management Limited, Lead Asset Management Limited and Capital Express Asset and Trust Limited, with NAV at N765.9 million, N383.5 million and N328 million respectively.
Analysis of total funds managed by the 24 fund managers shed slightly by 0.58 percent to N741 billion as at May 24 2019, compared with N745 billion in the previous week, 15percent more than N645 billion at start of the year.
The marginal decline in total mutual funds is largely attributable to slim dip in money market funds, which accounts for 76 percent of the entire mutual funds.
Money market funds, which comprise investment in short-term securities such as treasury bills, commercial papers and certificate of deposit, halted its 3-week bullish run, to slide 0.83 percent to N599.8 billion in the last week of May.
Stop rates across different tenors of Treasury bills declined in two consecutive primary market auctions last month, a major causal factor behind the drop in money market funds, according to analysts.
Stop rates on 182-day and 364-day tenors at Central Bank of Nigeria auction on May 15, slows to 12.3 percent and 12.49 percent respectively from 12.49 percent and 12.77 percent at the previous auction, while the rate on the 91-day bills was retained at 10 percent.
Rates on 182-day and 364-day tenor further dropped to 11.95 percent and 12.2 percent respectively, as buy pressure heightens.
Fixed income funds grew 0.94 percent to N77.5 billion, bond funds up 0.24 percent to N18 billion, equity funds were down 1.41 percent to N11.3 billion, with real estate funds remaining unchanged at N45 billion.
Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund, with AUM worth N262 billion, which nearly halves the N559 billion total money market funds, emerged the largest in the entire mutual funds.
Followed by FBN Money Market Fund (N163bn), ARM Money Market Fund (N57bn), Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (N35bn) and AXA Mansard Money Market Fund (N26bn)
Israel Odubola
