A feature on Danareksa Investment Management
March 14, 2016: Danareksa Investment Management (DIM), winner of the IFM award for Most Innovative Asset Management Company Indonesia 2015, is the first asset management company established in Indonesia and has become one of the most respected fund managers in the country. DIM’s business was essentially founded in 1976 as the first capital market company in Indonesia and laid out the very foundation of capital market platform in Indonesia. The name of Danareksa Investment Management (DIM) was merely formalised in 1992 with PT Danareksa (Persero) as the parent company.
In 1995, the government of the Republic of Indonesia launched the Capital Market Law number 8/1995 with the aim of regulating the capital market in Indonesia. In 1996, it pioneered the very first mutual funds in the country through the following products: Danareksa Melati (fixed income fund), Danareksa Anggrek (balanced fund) and Danareksa Mawar (equity fund).
Within the realm of mutual funds, we have 17 open-end funds which cover asset classes with different focuses and strategies in the following categories: money market funds, fixed income funds, balanced funds and equity funds.
Innovation is in the DNA of the company. It launched Reksa Dana Danareksa Syariah – the first Islamic-compliant mutual fund in Indonesia. It was followed by another innovation — USD-based funds and a Sharia-based index fund.
Aside from mutual funds, it is the only asset management company that is also issuing Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) products in Indonesia. Since there are no other asset management companies offering ABS in Indonesia, it is the natural leader in the industry.
It has offered an alternative in real-sector financing through state-owned enterprises by launching private-placement funds that strengthens its position as the only investment company offering private-placement products.
Its in-depth technical knowledge, strong clientele relationships, close-knit tie with regulatory entities and robust research capabilities make the ABS and private-placement funds offering process possible.
Investment education has been its on-going socialisation program to teach the community the importance of investing. It invented ‘My Investment My Future’ program to encourage investors to start investing small consistently early on over time (dollar cost averaging) for long-term horizon by automatically debiting their saving accounts on a monthly basis.
Technology also helps the company get closer to its investors. We were the first fund manager to offer mutual funds directly online. Through its Online Mutual Fund services, it is offering retail clients the facility to register and invest in its mutual funds through the internet. It subsequently developed Mobile Mutual Fund where clients can subscribe to or redeem funds through their mobile phones. These online services were the logical strategy to reach them efficiently.