Performance evaluation and customer satisfaction on mutual fund of Investment corporation of Bangladesh (lCB)

Abstract

Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (lCB) established on 1 October 1976 under the investment Corporation of Bangladesh Ordinance 1976. lt is an investment bank established to accelerate the pace of industrialization and develop a sound securities market in Bangladesh. Initially, the activities of ICB were limited to underwriting public issue of shares, bridge financing, debenture financing and opening/maintaining investors' accounts. ICB had largely expanded its areas and scope of activities and now provides various types of investment and banking services. Added activities include providing debenture loans to companies and loans to investors on margin trading basis, providing advances against ICB unit certificates, leasing of industrial equipment, managing unit fund and mutual funds, and participating in stock exchange for trading securities. Mutual fund comprising of a wide range of securities allows the participants to obtain the benefit of lower transaction costs in purchasing securities enabling the shareholders to hold more diversified portfolios. The demand for ICB mutual funds is also growing fast and persistent price rise in the market reflects the mismatch between demand and supply. In Bangladesh ICB has pioneered Mutual Funds for the sake of investors and of the capital market. ICB Mutual Funds are independent of one another. To expand its activities and give faculty to small investors ICB first introduced its mutual fund in 1980 with a paid up capital of 5O lac taka. As this mutual fund was performing well in the capital market ICB started its other seven mutual funds gradually. From the inception till now the Mutual Funds of ICB have proved themselves as very strong and profitable sectors of investment. Their market price and NAV is high even during the bear market. From the history of dividend payment, NAV,P/E ratio, EPS net profit we can easily understand that lCB mutual funds have a consistency in their performance. The total market capitalization of eight mutual funds is 247.77 corer and total size of fund is 17.75 corer. ln 2014 the number of certificate holders of the eight mutual funds is 18724 which were 19799 in 2013. ICB declared record dividend on its eight mutual funds in 2O13-2014.The highest dividend of 8fi)% per share was declared on the First ICB Mutual Fund. The dividend declared by the seven other mutual funds are astounding like previous years. Strong performance of the funds ls reflected in the market prices of the funds. All the mutual funds are traded significantly above per volume in both the sources. All of these are on the increase every year for which investors have full confidence in these mutual funds. ln 2014 the total portfolio cost of the mutual funds is 155.81 corer where the market value of the portfolio is 401.53 corer taka and the distributed income per certificate is also increasing every year. As a whole the lCB mutual funds have been a valuable and attractive investment now and always.