FNB launches new savings products

The country’s largest commercial lender last week added two new products to its investment offerings, which it said it hoped would attract an increased number of clients of varying needs. The two new investment funds are the Inflation-Linked Fund and the Balanced Fund. The former involves either a minimum monthly investment of N$500, or a lump-sum investment of N$5 000, with the aim of achieving returns about 3% above inflation. “As this fund is a medium-risk fund, it is ideal for investors who require maximum absolute returns after inflation,” Momentum Investments Portfolio Manager Loftie Botha said at the launch. “This fund can ideally be used for medium-term investments that need to grow above inflation,” he explained. The Balanced Fund was introduced to offer reasonable levels of capital growth via a balanced portfolio of underlying assets, without the need for these to be too heavily invested in equities. “This medium-high risk fund is ideal for investors who require maximum returns, yet at a lower risk than a typical equity fund”, Momentum Investment’s Head of Macro Research and Asset Allocation, Herman Van Papendorp, said. “This fund can ideally be used for a medium-term investment that needs to generate a significant capital return,” Van Papendorp said. As would be the case with the inflation-linked fund, he said healthy growth could be expected from the balanced fund, at either a monthly N$500 deposit or a N$5 000 lump-sum investment. WINDHOEK STAFF REPORTER