AIA Thailand, the country's largest life assurance company, has formed an investment management subsidiary, making it Thailand's third largest in terms of assets managed at 847 billion baht.
AIA Investment Management Thailand (AIAIMT) set up nine new funds, comprising five local funds and four foreign investment funds, to serve existing AIA customers and retail investors.
Both local and foreign funds will have various risk profiles to match differing needs and risk appetites among customers.
The company said it will not roll out more than 20 funds to avoid confusing customers.
"Our funds will focus on long-term gains, covering any industry with consistent growth, and will be managed with careful risk management," said Sukkawat Prasurtying, chief executive of AIAIMT.
The company plans to launch four foreign investment funds (FIFs) at the beginning of next year, with plans to launch three more FIFs at a later date.
Mr Sukkawat said AIAIMT expects to raise 5-6 billion baht for the new funds, mainly contributed by unit-linked insurance customers.
AIA has more than 10,000 insurance agents with investment consultant licences from the capital market regulator.
The company has about 200,000 unit-linked customers.
Last year AIA Thailand recorded 2.5 billion baht in first-year premiums from unit-linked products, contributing 16% of total premiums, with 23 billion baht in assets under management for unit-linked portfolios.
The 847 billion baht in assets and investments transferred from AIA Thailand to AIAIMT comprised government bonds worth 510 billion baht, corporate bonds worth 100 billion, offshore debentures worth 130 billion, and equity and other investments worth about 100 billion.
AIA has an investment network in 18 countries with total investment worth 8.5 trillion baht (US$284 billion), or about 55% of Thailand's GDP.
In Thailand, apart from AIAIMT, there are two other asset management companies under the insurance arms of Manulife Asset Management and TMBAM Eastspring.