Finnish fund PYN Elite’s August performance beats VN-Index

Finland-based PYN Elite Fund booked returns of 3.1% in August, outperforming the benchmark VN-Index's 2.6% growth, driven by banks’ outperformance and agribusiness Dabaco.

Dabaco (HoSE: DBC) was the top mover last month, rising 10.9%, followed by state-controlled VietinBank (9.5%) and car distributor Haxaco (6.7%), the fund said in a monthly report.

On the other hand, airports operator ACV was the worst mover, down 5.1%, while shares of Military Insurance Company (MIG) and ICT major CMC Corp. (CMG) dropped 4.6% and 4%, respectively.

Between January and August, the fund recorded returns of 16.68%, improving from 13.14% in January-July.

As of August 30, the fund’s NAV was €469 million ($518.44 million).

Up to six banks – Sacombank, MBBank, TP Bank, HDBank, VietinBank, and OC Bank – are among its top 10 holdings. The other four are ACV, FPT, DNSE, and Dabaco.

Commenting on the macro data, the fund expects the Vietnamese dong to appreciate further once the U.S.’s Fed begins cutting rates after gaining 1.5% in value in August. The U.S. dollar weakened 4.1% last month after the U.S. labor market cooled and the Fed signaled rate cuts. The dong depreciated 4.8% at its weakest, compared to an average depreciation of 7.2% for other Asian currencies.

“Despite initial uncertainty over Vietnam's leadership change, local businesses perceive the new regime as more business-friendly. The government is focusing on business development and quickly resolving long-standing bottlenecks,” commented the fund.

Regarding the stock market, the non-prefunding (NPF) circular is close to getting approval. Brokers are fine-tuning operational details and surveying customers' preferred funding quotas.

“Rolling out NPF will pave the way for Vietnam’s FTSE Emerging Market upgrade, expected in September 2025,” it added.