Romania's Biggest Mutual Fund Gains EUR25,000/day From Deposits

05.25.2011 ZF English

BCR Monetar (a money market fund), the biggest mutual fund on the Romanian market managed by Erste Asset Management, posted revenue of over 107,000 lei (EUR25,500) a day since the beginning of this year from the over half a billion lei kept in bank deposits.

The fund had RON1.4 billion in assets at the end of last year, with one third of the amount being invested in bank deposits.

From investments in deposits, government securities and bonds, BCR Monetar yielded 8.9% in 2010. The Bucharest Stock Exchange grew 12.3% last year, with the average interest rate paid by banks for a new 12-month deposit being 9.3%.

"The big size of the fund allows it to take advantage of market opportunities. It can negotiate high interests on deposits. In the first half of last year, the interests negotiated by the fund were sometimes as much as double the amount an individual could collect," said Drago[ Neacsu, chairman of Erste Asset Management.

Unlike consumers' deposits, mutual funds' investments in bank deposits are not guaranteed up to EUR100,000. (EUR1=RON4.1233)