Bank zenith ofbu. What are OFBUs (general funds of bank management) and what are the advantages of investing in them. The main differences between OFBU and PIF

OFBUs are inherently very close to mutual investment funds (MUIFs), with the difference that their operations are not subject to the same strict control by regulatory authorities. In fact, OFBU can invest funds in all legal financial instruments and structures (acting as investment objects (OI)). By the way, the same mutual fund can invest funds of shareholders only in a limited number of investment funds permitted for it.

With much greater freedom of choice comes much greater potential for profit. That is, the profitability of OFBUs can a priori be much higher than that of mutual funds.

The general bank management fund is property consisting of investors' shares and managed by a commercial bank. To carry out this type of management and in general to organize a public financial institution, a license from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is required.

In general, the creation of a fund of this kind requires compliance with a number of conditions:

1. A bank that decides to create an OFBU must have been registered more than one year ago;
2. The bank's capital must be at least one hundred million rubles (and we are talking here specifically about the bank's own capital);
3. During the last six reporting dates, the bank must be assigned a category of at least “financially stable”.

Investors who have invested their money in the general bank management fund receive a document in their hands in the form of a certificate of equity participation. Such a certificate cannot be sold on the market (it is not a security), but can be bequeathed by inheritance or re-issued to another person (based on an application to the bank that issued the certificate).

OFBUs are required to keep all their assets (funds of shareholders) in separate accounts, independent from the managing bank. For these purposes, a correspondent account is created with the Bank of Russia (for ruble assets) and an account with a credit organization authorized by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (for assets in foreign currency). Thus, the property of the shareholders is isolated from the property of the bank manager, and in the event of the bankruptcy of the latter (or the revocation of his license), the investments of the shareholders will not suffer in any way.

Both residents and non-residents of the Russian Federation can act as shareholders of OFBU. All control over the activities of the fund is exercised by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Investment objects can be:

1. FOREX currency market instruments;
2. Exchange market instruments (securities, including derivative financial instruments);
3. OTC market instruments;
4. Instruments of the precious metals market;
5. Commercial and residential real estate;
6. Etc. and so on.

At the same time, funds of shareholders may be managed in the form of:

1. National currency;
2. Foreign currency;
3. Precious stones and metals;
4. Liquid securities;
5. Derivative financial instruments.

All this opens up wide opportunities for investment, which these funds actively take advantage of. Aggressive investment strategies can bring shareholders an income of 30-40% per annum. But there is one important limitation for OFBU: you cannot invest more than 15% of funds in the same investment object. For example, when purchasing shares, you cannot invest in the securities of one issuer with a share exceeding the specified limit of 15%. However, this prohibition loses force when it comes to investing in government securities (here the interests of the state come first, and the interests of the fund’s shareholders, accordingly, are relegated to the background).

Currently, 274 general banking management funds are registered on the territory of the Russian Federation. The most famous of them include OFBU banks Absolut, Zenit, VTB, Gazprombank.

Becoming a shareholder of such a fund is quite simple; to do this, you need to select a fund and contact the bank that manages it. A trust management agreement for the depositor's property is concluded with the bank, and the depositor himself (that is, you) is issued a certificate of equity participation. The minimum deposit amount may vary from fund to fund and range from several thousand to several hundred thousand rubles.

Advantages of investing in OFBU

Let's start, as usual, by listing the main advantages of investing in this type of fund:

1. Essentially, funds are invested in a widely diversified and professionally managed fund, which actually turns them into a source of passive income without bothering the investor with the intricacies of management and diversification;
2. The opportunity to receive a higher income in comparison not only with such conservative instruments as bank deposits or government bonds, but also in comparison with mutual funds;
3. All expenses associated with the activities of the OFBU (management fees, etc.) are determined upon signing the agreement and remain unchanged throughout the entire investment period.

Of course, investing in such funds is associated with a certain amount of risk. After all, a more aggressive investment strategy, which is available to the managers of such funds, in addition to potentially greater profits, also carries potentially greater risks. However, it is not at all necessary that every bank managing such a fund will pursue an aggressive investment policy.

Well, you should keep in mind the fact that no one guarantees you that investments in OFBU will bring profit and not turn into losses (for example, as happened with the vast majority of funds during the 2008 crisis). No one is immune from the mistakes of fund managers and from global financial crises.

The main differences between OFBU and mutual funds

Although these two organizations are very similar to each other, there are nevertheless a number of significant differences between them:

1. When investing in a mutual fund, the investor receives a security - an investment share, which is traded on the stock exchange and can be accepted by the bank as collateral when issuing a loan. When investing in OFBU, the investor receives a certificate of equity participation that is not a security, with all the ensuing consequences (it cannot be bought/sold on the stock exchange, used as collateral, etc.);
2. General bank management funds undoubtedly have greater investment opportunities. OFBU can invest funds of shareholders in everything that is not prohibited in principle, and a mutual fund can invest only in what is allowed to it;
3. Contributions to mutual funds are made in the form of cash, usually in national currency. And in OFBU you can invest not only money in any liquid currency, but also securities, precious metals and stones, etc.
4. OFBU is controlled only by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and mutual funds are under the supervision of several regulatory organizations. In addition to the same Bank of Russia, it is controlled by a registrar, an independent appraiser and an auditor. This, in turn, leads to the fact that the share of overhead costs associated with this control and falling on the shoulders of investors is slightly lower for OFBU than for mutual funds.

The turbulent situation in the stock market makes investors quite nervous. However, many of those who had long been interested in new ways to preserve and increase their savings, but never dared to try to make money on the securities market, perceived the drop in quotations positively, believing that the time had come to purchase shares of common bank management funds (BMF).

OFBUs, like mutual funds, are created with the aim of attracting funds from small and medium-sized investors to the securities market, who, in turn, receive professional management from the bank at minimal costs. In other words, you, along with a large number of investors, transfer your money to the bank so that it, acting independently, but at your expense, places this money on the financial market and brings you income, usually exceeding the income on the deposit. Funds of OFBU depositors can be invested in all assets for which the bank has licenses to operate (for example, foreign currency, securities denominated in both Russian and foreign currency, derivatives market instruments, etc.). This is explained by the fact that the activities of the OFBU are regulated by the Bank of Russia, and the manager of the OFBU is the bank. As a result, one of the advantages is wider opportunities for OFBUs in choosing assets for investment compared to mutual funds.

Speaking about the risks that are certainly present in the securities market, we must begin with the fact that none of the known methods of storing capital provides a 100% guarantee of the safety of savings, and there are always risks. If the market situation develops unfavorably, your savings may depreciate to some extent. But, as a rule, those who invest for a long period (a year or more) make a profit. True, when determining the acceptable degree of risk, it is important which strategy the novice investor chooses.

Currently, Zenit Bank manages 5 funds that fully cover all management strategies. OFBU "Profitable" and "Profitable II" are a vivid example of an aggressive strategy (high profitability with quite significant risks). The managers of the Perspektivny fund adhere to a balanced management strategy in the derivatives market. The Currency Fund (an aggressive strategy for managing foreign currency assets) was created for our compatriots who kept their savings in dollars and would not want to lose when exchanging this currency for rubles. OFBU "Universal" represents a conservative strategy and is one of the most reliable funds on the market (data from Azipi).

Currently, questions are increasingly being heard from individuals about the possibility of placing their own funds for long periods in instruments other than bank deposits. This trend has a completely logical and even, one might say, classical explanation, since during the period of growth of the country’s economy as a whole, there is an inevitable decrease in market interest rates, and this in turn entails a decrease in deposit rates. What should a private person do in such a situation? Continue to place money in deposits and watch how inflation eats it up? Or find ways to ensure that the income from placed funds is directly dependent on the level of economic development? A person interested not only in preserving his own capital, but also in increasing it, will, of course, choose the path of searching for opportunities for more efficient use of accumulated capital. But here the next question arises. What are these instruments that allow you to earn more income than bank deposits?

Following the path of development of advanced banking technologies, Bank ZENIT created General Banking Management Funds (FBU) Profitable and Safe Harbor. These funds allow you to accumulate funds from various individuals (we will further call them Investors) for subsequent investment in securities.

What opportunities and advantages does this form of cooperation with the Bank give the Investor?

To sum up, we can say with confidence that OFBUs today are the most promising forms of placing free funds, and in developed Western markets, instruments of this kind have existed for decades and are the most common type of private investment.

We are ready to provide additional information and answer any questions you may have at the telephone number indicated above on the right.