One of the leading asset management companies in Lithuania INVL Asset Management has scraped the requirement of a minimum initial investment, which was EUR 25, in order to participate in the investment funds managed by the company. The company took this new approach drawing from the experience of Western Europe with the goal to encourage long-term investing by individuals.
"This decision stems from the idea to encourage investment practices in the country and debunk the myth that investing is possible only if you have several hundreds or thousands of euros. It is worth starting one's investment even with several or dozen euros in hand since periodic and long-term investing may turn even the smallest of amounts invested into significant wealth due to return on investment," says Tomas Krakauskas, Chief Investment Officer of INVL Asset Management.
According to him, the decision to scrap the minimum initial investment by INVL Asset Management will enable more flexible planning of finances by the clients providing them with possibility to devote the discretionary money for investing without minimum initial investment requirement. "It is a quite often practice in Western Europe to offer investment without minimum initial investment requirement thus encouraging periodic investing. As our investment funds are also offered outside Lithuania, the step was taken to be more in line with the international practice too," adds T. Krakauskas.
Currently INVL Asset Management manages five investment funds. The latest in the company's portfolio is INVL Global Emerging Markets Bond Subfund. The fund, which was launched on July 1, is the first of investment bond funds registered in the country offering investing into bonds on a global scale. The fund invests not just into European but also Asian, African, North and South American government bonds and corporate debt securities. This investment fund, just like all others managed by the company, no longer requires a minimum initial investment. Moreover, INVL Global Emerging Market Bond Subfund will not charge distribution and management fees up to 2018.
"The latest fund has expanded our portfolio of balanced risk products – bond investment funds are more suitable for less experienced investors too. It is recommended that those less interested in finance markets invest periodically as this type of investing significantly reduces the risk of fluctuations," comments T. Krakauskas.
INVL Asset Management also manages INVL Baltic Fund, INVL Emerging Europe ex Russia TOP20 Subfund, INVL Emerging Europe Bond Subfund and INVL Russia TOP20 Subfund. As of July 1, assets managed by the company in its investment funds were worth EUR 42.4m.
According to the 2015 figures by the Bank of Lithuania, INVL Asset Management was a leading company in the country by the number of participants in registered investment funds registered in the country, with a market share of 47%, meaning that almost every one in two participants in the market had chosen investment funds of the company. INVL Asset Management also manages eight second pillar and third pillar pension funds, and offers investment portfolio management services.
INVL Asset Management is part of one of the leading asset management groups in the Baltics Invalda INVL. Companies of the group manage pension and investment funds, alternative investments, individual portfolios, private equity and other financial instruments. More than 150 thousand clients in Lithuania and Latvia as well as international investors have entrusted over EUR 340m in assets to the group.