BOS, Lion Global Investors raise US$126m for new Asian income fund

BANK of Singapore (BOS) and Lion Global Investors on Wednesday announced the launch of the Lion-Bank of Singapore Asian Income Fund, offered exclusively to BOS clients.

BOS raised US$126 million during the three-week initial offer period (from Jan 11 to Feb 2, 2016).

It said that investors were attracted by the fund's diversified portfolio of Asian equities and bonds, with a covered equity call option strategy and a target distribution of 5-6 per cent per annum.

The fund offers regular income from multiple sources, namely equity dividends, bond coupons and option premium, while still being able to capture growth opportunities and manage risks, it noted. The combination of equities and bonds as well as the flexibility to hold cash reduces overall portfolio volatility, it explained.

BOS decides asset allocation, and is in charge of building the equity portfolio and implementing the covered call strategy, while Lion Global Investors manages the fixed income portfolio.

BOS said this fund should benefit investors shaken from the bad start in global markets in 2016 and are wondering what they should do to grow their wealth and yet manage risks in order not to lose the value of their assets.

Lion Global Investors has a track record of coverage of Asian fixed income and equities. As at Dec 31, 2015, it managed over S$26 billion fixed income investments, making it one of the largest fixed income managers in the region.

As for BOS, its discretionary portfolio management (DPM) assets under management (AUM) have grown to account for more than 7 per cent of the bank's total AUM, it said, without elaborating with numbers.

It added that over the market cycles in the past six years, its mandates have posted compounded returns averaging 5 per cent annually.