Frequently Asked Questions

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Unlike bank deposits, principal investments in UITFs are not protected nor returns can be guaranteed.

Investment in UITFs is not insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). The returns of UITFs are not guaranteed and fluctuate from day to day according to the market value of the securities in the portfolio. As a result, past performance is not indicative of future performance.

Different factors affect financial markets and how they react is reflected in the prices of securities. Investments are exposed to risks.

ATRAM Trust Corporation is the trustee of ATRAM UITFs. ATRAM Trust Corporation is the first stand-alone trust corporation in the Philippines. It received its license to operate in October 2016 from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). ATRAM Trust was the first to launch a complete range of feeder funds in the Philippines which provide Filipinos access to offshore investments in the US, Europe, Emerging Markets and Asia.

ATRAM Trust Corporation does not charge investors with sales fees. We do, however, charge trust fees which range from 0.50% p.a. to 1.5% p.a. depending on the UITF. Trust fees are already incorporated in the computation of a UITF’s NAVPU.

Risks Involved in Investing

Investing in funds will always carry risks that correspond to the potential upside. Selection of funds depends on your appetite for risk and how you view the potential upside versus the potential downside on the investment.

Kindly note that UITFs are not deposit products and earnings as well as the principal are exposed to potential gain or loss.

• If you invest in an equity or aggressive fund (primarily invested in the stock market), there is a high potential for growth but there is also a high potential for loss since it is dependent on movements of the stock market.
• If you are more conservative, you can invest in other funds that invest in fixed income assets. These have smaller movements where your potential upside is smaller, but your potential loss is smaller as well.
• If you feel you are somewhere in the middle, you can go for a balanced fund that is a combination of equity and bond funds. This provides potential growth due to its investments in equity and the stability from its bond/fixed income investments.

You may invest in funds outside your risk tolerance when you waive the result of the risk profile questionnaire you answered upon registration. You will need to be aware of the potential risks involved in investing in a fund that is outside your risk tolerance.

An investor can realize profits by redeeming units at a higher NAVPU than what an investor bought these at. Funds are valued on a marked-to-market basis. This means that the price reflects the accurate value of the fund at the time of your investment/redemption.

Please give yourself the chance to read the Declaration of Trust (DOT) and the Key Information and Investment Disclosure Statement (KIIDS) of the UITF that you are interested in. The DOT and KIIDS are available for download at ATRAM’s website: www.atram.com.ph. The DOT and KIIDS contain the UITF's investment objectives; the broad investment strategies the fund manager will follow; the risks involved in investing in the fund; and the fees, costs and other disclosures essential to good governance and transparency. A careful reading of the DOT and a discussion with a certified UITF salesperson should help you decide whether the fund appropriately matches your financial goals and appetite for risk.

When you invest in UITFs, you are placing your money in different asset classes such as money markets, stocks or bonds (depending on the fund that you select) that appreciate or depreciate depending on market performance of the fund.

These are not deposit products and the principal amount and earnings are subject to appreciation or depreciation, thus there is no fixed ROI.

Investments are long-term in nature as market prices move from day to day.

The best way to achieve your goals is to practice cost averaging or investing at regular intervals whatever the unit price is. This allows you to buy more units when the market is down, less when the market is up. In the long run, the cost averages out and increases your odds of turning a profit.

A Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF) is an open-ended pooled trust fund denominated in pesos or any acceptable currency, which is established, administered, and maintained by a trust entity and made available by participation. Each UITF product is governed by a Declaration of Trust (or Plan Rules) which contains the investment objectives of the UITF as well as the mechanics for investing, operating, and administering the fund.

A mutual fund pools money from many investors to create a larger fund managed by professional fund managers. This pooled capital is invested in a diversified mix of assets such as stocks, bonds, or other securities. Each investor owns shares of the fund, and the value of those shares goes up or down depending on the performance of the underlying investments. This allows you to access a professionally managed, diversified portfolio without needing to pick and manage individual investments yourself.

Units of participation are made available to investors based on the Net Asset Value Per Unit (NAVPU) of the fund for the day. The NAVPU is derived by dividing the fund's Net Asset Value (NAV) by the number of outstanding units in the fund. NAV, on the other hand, is the sum of the market value of the investments of the fund less expenses such as taxes, fees and other qualified charges. To determine how many units of participation a certain amount of investment is equivalent to, simply divide the amount to be invested by the prevailing NAVPU for the day.

A Risk Disclosure Statement (RDS) contains the nature of the UITFs and risks involved in investing therein. It is a confirmation that a UITF investor has fully acknowledged, understood, and agreed with the risks disclosed both in RDS and by a certified UITF Salesperson.

A money market fund is invested in liquid fixed income instruments maturing in less than a year. If you wish to invest in a fund that has minimal risk but can potentially give better returns than your regular savings account, you may consider investing in a money market fund.

An equity fund is invested in shares of stocks of various corporations. It is recommended for investors who have Aggressive risk profile who can take negative swings in fund performance in exchange for potential high returns. It is recommended that investors in an equity fund stay invested for long-term.

Funds from various clients with similar investment objectives are pooled together into one fund, which the trustee invests in various types of securities with the aim of maximizing returns within reasonable risk levels. A client invests in a UITF by purchasing units of participation in the fund. The units of participation represent the investor's proportionate beneficial share in the total value of the fund. As an investor in the fund, the client does not own any specific asset of the fund, only a proportionate share in all of the fund's assets.

In the Philippines, the key difference lies in regulation and structure. Mutual funds are investment companies regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Investment Company Act. Investors buy shares of the mutual fund, which are managed by a licensed investment company adviser.

Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs), on the other hand, are products offered by banks and trust entities, and are regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). When you invest in a UITF, you buy units of participation in a trust, not shares of a company.

Both products pool money from many investors and are managed by professionals, but their regulatory oversight, structure, and governing laws differ.

The UITF investor and the trust entity shall execute a Participating Trust Agreement (PTA) to confirm the investor's desire to participate in the fund and the trust entity's acceptance thereof, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Declaration of Trust.

Investors in a managed fund can avail of the following benefits:

Diversification - By investing in a managed fund, risks are spread out across the various investments held by the pooled trust fund. Diversification comes in the form of various types of investments, issuers and tenors. Regulated funds are required to observe its exposure in a single entity and its related parties to 10-15% of the market value of the fund, except in case of government securities.

Liquidity - While it is advisable to stay invested in funds for a longer period of time, clients can redeem at any time. It will not have difficulty redeeming because investments are limited to marketable or tradable securities.

Affordability - Managed Funds such as Mutual Funds and UITFs generally have low minimum investment requirements. Additional investments may be made in tranches as funds become available to the client.

Better earnings potential - Greater earnings potential is achieved without having to invest large sums of money. There are opportunities for potentially higher returns due to possible marked-to-market gains on top of accrued income from investments. Funds can provide access to financial instruments not readily available to retail investors.

Exempt from reserve requirements - Mutual Funds and UITFs are not subject to reserve requirements imposed on bank deposits.

Professional fund management - Investing in managed funds such as Mutual Funds and UITFs allow clients to gain access to the expertise and services of seasoned fund managers who are able to actively monitor the markets for possible investment opportunities.

Transparency - Mutual Funds and Trust entities are required to publish NAVPUs at least weekly, allowing investors to compare investment performance of various fund managers. These funds are subject to a separate annual audit by an independent auditor acceptable to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for UITFs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for Mutual Funds, the results of which may be made available to investors. In addition, each managed fund is required to have a third-party custodian, who is tasked with safekeeping the securities of the fund and performing independent marking-to-market of such securities.

Regulated product - The management and administration of UITFs are governed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) while Mutual Funds are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for Mutual Funds.

A bond fund or a fixed income fund is invested either in direct government or corporate debt instruments, depending on the investment objective of the fund. It is considered as less risky than equities or stocks. A direct bond, on the other hand, is a debt investment with which the investor loans money to an entity that borrows the funds for a definite period at a specified interest rate.

A Feeder Fund is a UITF structure that mandates the fund to invest at least 90% of its assets in a single collective investment scheme.

Minimum initial investment starts at Php 1,000 with a minimum top up investment of Php 500 only. We do not require you to invest monthly. However, we do recommend you do regular investments (e.g. monthly, quarterly or semi-annual) so that you can establish the habit of building wealth. You can start with a small investment and build this over time.

Yes. You just have to place a redemption order to redeem shares or units from the desired fund. Currently, UITFs have no exit fees or holding period while MFs have different holding periods depending on the fund. Please refer to the product information page of your desired fund.

customercare_trust@atram.com.ph for further details. Currently, ATRAM Trust Corporation's online investment platform, Seedbox, can only accommodate Individual accounts.

Redemption crediting depends on the Fund's settlement period. Please refer to the Product information page of the Fund.

1. On the home page, tap Funds and browse the available products.
2. Select a fund, tap Buy on the product details page.
3. Enter the amount, and select your settlement account.
4. Review and agree to the required documents, then confirm purchase.
5. Payment instructions will be shown after confirmation.

You may pay your order online via BPI, BDO and Metrobank Bills payment facility. A payment guide will be shown upon order checkout on how to pay for your investment.

Yes. Kindly send an email to customercare_trust@atram.com.ph for further details. Currently, ATRAM Trust Corporation's online investment platform, Seedbox, can only accommodate Individual accounts.

No, transactions can only be made through the Seedbox app.