Phoenix Finance & Investments Limited is set to sell another 20 lakh units of Phoenix Finance 1st Mutual Fund, marking its second sell-down in five months as the fund’s market price has climbed to more than twice its present net asset value (NAV).
The sponsor will sell the units from its current holding of 1.20 crore units through the Dhaka Stock Exchange at the prevailing market price by 29 October, according to a disclosure on Monday.
Phoenix Finance had sold 10 lakh units in April, reducing its stake from 1.30 crore units to 1.20 crore units. If the latest sale is completed, its holding will fall to 1 crore units, or 16.67 per cent of the fund’s 6 crore outstanding units. Its total sell-off this year will reach 30 lakh units.
The sale comes as the closed-end mutual fund is trading at a significant premium to its underlying assets.
The fund closed at Tk17.30 on Monday, down 3.89 per cent from the previous session, but remained more than double its latest market-price NAV of Tk8.55 per unit.
The unit has traded between Tk4.60 and Tk19.20 over the past year, reflecting extreme volatility and speculation, while market observers stress the need for regulatory investigation if any market manipulation took place.
As of 27 September, the fund reported total net assets of Tk51.33 crore based on market price and Tk73.15 crore based on cost value.
Its NAV at cost stood at Tk12.19 per unit against a face value of Tk10, while capital erosion in the investment portfolio dragged the NAV at market price per unit to Tk8.55.
The current premium contrasts sharply with the fund’s position earlier this year. In its audited report for the year ended 30 June 2026, auditor M J Abedin & Co said the fund’s six-month average trading price of Tk4 was 54.75 per cent below its NAV at fair value, breaching the 25 per cent threshold under the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Mutual Fund Rules 2025.
The auditor issued a qualified opinion, noting that the trustee had not called a unitholders’ meeting as required under the rules.
The fund also declared no dividend for the year ended 30 June, although it reported earnings per unit of Tk1.64. Its NAV at market price stood at Tk8.84 per unit at the financial year-end, compared with Tk7.20 a year earlier, while net operating cash flow per unit worsened to negative Tk0.47 from negative Tk0.06.
The fund’s sharp price movement had earlier drawn a query from the Dhaka Stock Exchange in July.
The asset manager said there was no undisclosed price-sensitive information behind the unusual rise in price and trading volume.
At the end of August, sponsors and directors held 23.33 per cent of the fund, down from 25 per cent on 30 June 2025. Institutions held 23.72 per cent, foreign investors 0.01 per cent and public investors 52.94 per cent.
Listed in 2010, Phoenix Finance 1st Mutual Fund has paid-up capital of Tk60 crore and 6 crore outstanding units.
