Kiatnakin Fund Management, the Thailand-based fund manager, is launching a new range of funds aimed at niche markets, local reports show.

Twenty-nine new funds will be rolled out over the next months and will have a combined size of THB13.03 billion ($419.8 million). Products will focus on low-risk, high-return retirement funds and mixed insurance aimed mostly at specialised markets, such as high net worth individuals and investors under 35 years old.

The launch comes in line with expectations of low interest rates for Thai investments in the next years. Speaking to local media recently, Supakorn Soontornkit, managing director of Kiatnakin Fund Management, reportedly said that the firm is aiming for a 55.35 per cent rise in assets under management to THB30.89 billion, from THB19.87 billion in the previous year.

The company has been expanding its operations ahead of the Thai government's plan to liberalise the brokerage sector this year. In December, the firm merged Kiatnakin Bank, its banking arm, and Phatra Capital, a local bank with an AuM of THB11.03 billion, to build an entity with a wider range of offerings. Phatra mostly acts for local and foreign institutionals clients and HNW individuals, while Kiatnakin primarily works with retail investors.