Chilean AFP pension managers during 2014 provided a tremendous boost to the cross-border funds of Morgan Stanley, whose AUMs from the pension funds in the 12 months soared from USD 26 million to USD 736 million.

In similar fashion, but other traditional brands – UBS and Pimco – also came back into favor with the AFPs in 2014. Pimco has started 2014 with USD 509 million, and ended it with 2.1 billion in AFP assets, while UBS climbed from USD 112 million to USD 503 million over the same span.

PICTON ADVISORS, the Chilean firm that distributes Morgan Stanley funds in the region, made a major commitment at the end of 2013, registering the manager’s fixed-income funds and inviting its executives managers to pitch the products in Chile during the first half of 20144, Matias Eguiguren, a partner atPICTON, told Fund Pro Latin America. “I believe Morgan Stanley is an asset manager with great potential both on both the equity and fixed-income sides, and we are looking forward to growing with them in 2015”.

Asked about the fall in AUMs in EFTs in 2014 in the Chilean AFP market, the executive said pension funds used this type of vehicle when they could not find sufficient alternatives among active mutual funds in some specific asset classes or in certain regions, with a reasonable size (at least USD 500 Million) and which added alpha. Or they use EFTs to maintain tactical positions which allow them to easily enter and exit markets.

“Chilean AFPs are mature, long-term investors and I believe the only explanation for more or less preference for EFTs or mutual funds is their allocation at the time and the available offering of products”, he said.

In 2014, the cross-border managers that ended the year with the most AUMs from the AFPs were Blackrock (USD 8.9 billion), Vanguard (USD 8.6 billion), and Franklin Templeton (USD 4.4 billion). The products that led in flows in 2014 were: Franklin India (USD 1.6 billion), Julius Baer Japan Stock (USD 708 million), iShares Core S&P 500 (USD 676 million) and Deutsche Convertibles (USD 664 million).