BIZ BUZZ: AB Capital outperforms

Last year wasn’t a rewarding period for equity investors (the local benchmark index slipped 1.77 percent)—unless you have a fund manager who could beat considerable odds.

Since taking over AB Capital & Investment Corp. in October 2021, capital market veteran Anton Periquet has catapulted the previously underperforming equity-laced and equity-based unit investment trust funds (UITFs) of this investment house to the top of the charts.

Despite the challenging environment, AB Capital Equity Fund gained 4.58 percent in 2023, making it the best performing equity UITF.

In the balanced fund category, AB Capital Balanced Fund likewise topped the ranking with its 7.83- percent gain last year.

Both UITFs were previously at the bottom of the heap (fourth quartile). Before Periquet’s takeover, AB Capital had P28 billion in assets under management (AUM), which have now grown to more than P40 billion. Including a newly created private wealth division, the group is now nearing the P45-billion AUM mark.

Periquet has also beefed up AB Capital’s asset management and trust business, which will be spun off into a standalone trust unit. Michael Manuel, formerly managing director for Asia Investments at Sun Life Financial based in Hong Kong, is back in town and has joined AB Capital as its new trust officer. Manuel is seen to have both the investment and client experience to sustain the business momentum.

Periquet is likewise building up AB Capital’s stock brokerage (see related item from Miguel) and investment banking businesses. The house is now advising several companies (some of which involve business restructuring) in preparation for a future initial public offering.

When we wrote about Periquet’s takeover of AB Capital in 2021, we’ve said that this was the “house to watch.” With backing from tycoons such as Enrique Razon Jr., Lance Gokongwei and Christopher Po, AB Capital is indeed rapidly growing to become a major capital market player.

Periquet had done it once at the turn of the millennium when he set up Deutsche Regis Partners Inc. and led this to become the largest stockbroker in the Philippines. But this time around, it’s on a larger scale because his group is not just into stock brokerage but also into investment banking and asset management. — Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Also.. AB Capital snatches new hires from Credit Suisse

The AB Capital Group is beefing up its team with the new addition of topflight executives from Credit Suisse Securities Philippines, which ceased operations last year after the group was acquired by UBS.

Among them is former Credit Suisse head of sales Joselito Vicencio Jr., who now handles institutional sales at AB Capital, his recently updated LinkedIn profile showed.

Former Credit Suisse head of research Hazel Tandeo also joined AB Capital, an informed source told Biz Buzz.

“It’s only natural for AB Capital to hire from Credit Suisse since it was known as a powerhouse of talent,” the source said.

AB Capital Group, whose board is occupied by tycoons such as Lance Gokongwei, Enrique Razon Jr., and Christopher Po, is serious about raising competition in the industry.

This also follows the recent rollout of GCash’s stock trading platform, with AB Capital Securities as its broker-partner. — Miguel R. Camus