As a result, the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) has withdrawn the functioning permit of the two funds. Vanguard AM still administers open-end fund ETF BET Tradeville and closed-end fund Global Investing Fund.
Vanguard Asset Management is held by brokerage Tradeville. The brokerage is controlled by businessman Siminel Andrei. For two decades he ran investment fund Broadhurst Investments, with investments of EUR300 million in Romania. Siminel Andrei indirectly holds 95% in Tradeville, through Annaliesse Investments Limited.
“We decided to close down the two funds because their activity was no longer sustainable. The assets of the two funds fell to a low level and no longer allow yields to be obtained,” says Dragos Darabut, general manager of Vanguard Asset Management.
At the end of August, FON had assets of 186,000 lei from 463 investors and balanced fund Vanguard Protector had assets of RON439,000 from 520 investors. The two funds, FON and Vanguard Protector, are among the oldest mutual funds in Romania.
In the early 2000s FON was the largest mutual fund on the Romanian market with assets of almost RON3 billion from over 500 investors.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)