The Association of Investment Management Companies (AIMC) and the Government Pension Fund (GPF) yesterday issued a statement announcing they have no direct investment in the assets of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
AIMC chairwoman Chavinda Hanratanakool said the closure of SVB has no impact on the Thai mutual fund industry and she believes the bank's issues can be resolved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, with support from US regulators.
"According to a survey of our members, no Thai mutual funds have direct investments in SVB assets," she said.
"Most of the investments in Thai foreign investment funds in the financial sector of the US and Europe are made through master funds focused on the financial technology sector, with diversified assets in many companies."
AIMC and asset management firms plan to monitor the case and look after investor benefits.
The US government announced a quick fix for depositors at SVB, allowing them to resume withdrawals.
In addition, the Federal Reserve used the Bank Term Funding Program to cope with liquidity problems at SVB and other banks that might face similar issues in the future.
"This issue will affect the US financial and technology industries in the short term," said Mrs Chavinda.
The GPF said it also does not have any investments in the assets of SVB, Signature Bank or Silvergate Bank.
GPF secretary-general Srikanya Yathip said SVB's problems mainly stemmed from mistakes in the bank's policies as well as management of assets and liabilities.
US authorities have launched measures to control and limit the possible spillover, reassuring the public about the stability of the US financial system, said Mrs Srikanya.
"GPF views the capital market as still volatile because of several factors such as interest rate uncertainties, inflation and the lack of investor confidence," she said.
"Venture capital, private equity and startups now have less access to funding. This situation will affect the profits and balance sheets of the banking sector, and will negatively affect the outlook of the US and global stock markets."
The bond yields of two-year and 10-year US Treasuries have sharply dropped by 40-70 basis points, reflecting expectations that the Fed may delay raising interest rates further.
Mrs Srikanya said such a move could affect GPF's overall investment portfolio.
"GPF has implemented a prudent and cautious investment policy to ensure good returns in the long run for members," she said.
"We are closely monitoring developments in the US."
GPF has 1.2 million members with net assets under management valued at 1.22 trillion baht as of Feb 28.
The Thai stock market rose sharply in line with regional markets yesterday as investor concerns about a run on US commercial banks eased because of government pledges of help for depositors.
