Dividend May Be Lower This Year : EPF

KUALA LUMPUR (June 18, 2013): The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has warned of the possibility of a lower dividend – the inflation rate plus 2% – this year, as it grapples with lower returns from government bonds which made up 55.2% of total investments in 2012.

Its CEO, Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, is, however, confident that it will be able to meet its inflation plus 2% dividend rate target "as long as inflation is under control".

The EPF announced a record dividend of 6.15%, or inflation plus 3.5%, for 2012, earlier this year. Returns from fixed income instruments exceeded 5.5% last year.

"We constantly need to reinvest money (in government bonds) that mature, and money that was previously invested (for the last 10 years) at higher rates of return (is being) reinvested for the next five to 10 years at much lower rates," Shahril told reporters after hosting newly-appointed Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan at its headquarters here yesterday.

"As an example, the Malaysian Government Securities (MGS) today for a 10-year paper, we are receiving (returns of) less than 4%, so you can imagine (what will happen) if we have too much of a concentration in fixed income ( investments)," he added.

The rest of EPF's funds are invested in equities (38.8%), money market instruments (3.6%) and real estate and infrastructure (2.4%).He said the pension fund is already seeing some of the impact of the lower returns in its numbers."As we continue to reinvest at lower rates of return for the same amount of risk that we are taking, we will see a lower rate of returns. So that's the biggest issue that we are grappling (with today)," Shahril said.

to read more,just go to the sun daily website or click http://www.thesundaily.my/news/744767

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Understanding Investment Thoroughly

Article nie aku jumpa dalam majalah Unit Trust Today Volume10 2012 yang memberi focus kepada investor..so,aku just share article nie untuk korang supaya korang dapat tambahkan lagi knowledge pasal investment unit trust nie..selamat membaca.. :)

Encik Ahmad has been investing in unit trust since year 2000. He has seen the markets up and down, made a few mistakes along the way. When he first started, he was influenced by his friends who had made money when they started investing end 1997 to 1999. They encouraged him, “Ahmad, look how much money we made, we sold at a profit and it is better than the banks’ fixed deposit rates. We are now going in again, for the second round of profits”.

Caught up with the excitement and euphoria of his friends gain, he quickly signed up with an agent who approached him at the shopping mall a few days ago. “Oh, Encik Ahmad, this is our latest equity fund, recently launched. If you invest with me during this launch period, the company is giving a bonus of extra 5% units of your original investment. Plus, if you look at all our previous funds, see how many awards we won for our funds’ performance!”

That day, Ahmad was happy, he had put in RM10,000 of his money which he took from his savings in fixed deposit which had matured. Expecting good returns, he waited for a year. The markets dropped and the gains did not come.He decided to wait another 6 months, the market fell a bit more. By then, he started to worry and called his friends.

“Alamak, Ahmad, we are caught too. The market doesn’t look good and we are thinking of selling off to cut losses.You may want to do that. Take your money first, than when the timing is right, we can go in again”.

Flustered, Ahmad called his agent to let him know of his intention to redeem his investment. His calls went unanswered. By then he panicked, thinking something may have gone wrong. He quickly went to the unit trust management company’s office to check on his account.The customer services personnel helped him check his investment and notified him that the value had dropped by 15% due to the drop in the share market. The agent servicing his account had resigned. Apparently the market drop had affected the agent’s income and he went back to employment. Ahmad’s case is now re-assigned to the resigned agent’s upline, Ann. The customer services personnel called Ann to inform her regarding Encik Ahmad’s case. Within minutes, Ann called Encik Ahmad’s handphone and made and appointment to see him the next day at his office.

The next day, Ann called at Encik Ahmad’s office. “Thank you for your time, Encik Ahmad. On behalf of my resigned team member, I apologize for the short break in contact with you. Customer services informed me of your concern with your investment which had dropped because of the share market. I appreciate your meeting with me before carrying out your decision to redeem”.

Encik Ahmad nodded in agreement and told her what had happened and now he wanted to redeem and get whatever he can back as his friends are doing so. It is such a bad experience for him. Ann agreed that it is natural for Encik Ahmad to feel fear as it is his first time in unit trust investment. She took out a prospectus and showed him how unit trust investment works. She then walked him through the proper process for unit trust investment in terms of investment goals, time horizon for investment and how they can work together. When she asked him whether he is comfortable with the process and would like her to carry on, he agreed.

She asked him what was his objective in investing, to which he replied to make more profits. She decided to delve a little deeper by asking him what he would do with the profits. Encik Ahmad gave a quick thought and said that since he is still single and intends to buy a house, this investment can be earmarked for it.

Understanding and identifying your investment goals

Ann very quickly helped Encik Ahmad to calculate how much he needed to buy his dream home and together they worked out how much he needs to save and the duration required to save.

Selecting the right investment portfolio

With the objective identified and worked out, Ann then went on to uncover Encik Ahmad’s ability to take risk using a Risk Profile Questionnaire. From there, she was able to determine a suitable portfolio which consisted of various unit trust funds with different asset classes to build the portfolio. She even showed him how the percentage of different asset classes of unit trust funds he should have in his portfolio and how she would help him to systematically re-balance his portfolio when the share market changes. She explained that portfolio management is a systematic way of taking profits and averaging down cost of his various unit trust funds.

Encik Ahmad felt better with what Ann has done for him,but he still had concerns over his current loss. Ann then went on to patiently explain to him that she will help him to switch at no extra cost, his current investment, to the suitable portfolio and over time, he will recover his loss and go on to make gains.She even showed him case studies of similar situations,to help him understand about unit trust investment. She explained the power of ringgit-cost-averaging, combined with the strategy of building a portfolio to mitigate short-term risks and focus on longer term gains to achieve his financial goals. Encik Ahmad and Ann then discussed the level of service he would need and how often they would meet to review his investment portfolio. By then, Encik Ahmad felt more confident in his investments and arranged with Ann to meet up next week to start his regular savings so that he can have that dream house of his.

Know your rights and responsibilities

Ann praised Encik Ahmad for taking the initiative to contact the unit trust company when he was unable to contact his previous agent. She explained to him that as an investor, he should always issue a cheque or bankers cheque in favor of Unit Trusts Management Company and avoid giving cash or banking money into the agent’s account. This is to ensure his money is invested in the unit trust funds instead of going astray. She also clarified that he should get a confirmation advice from the company within a week of his investment and in the meantime, the agent should let him have a copy of his application form duly stamp received by the respective unit trust company.

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How to be an informed investor

Encik Ahmad asked Ann how he can know more about the funds he has invested in and whether the agent he is dealing with is genuine. Ann then referred to the Master Prospectus again and showed him pages where there is a summary of the funds and flipped to the respective pages which had full description of each fund  and investment strategies. She also informed him of the interim report and annual report on the funds he has invested in, which will be sent to him either in the form of a booklet or CD and he can always call her for clarification in any areas of the review. Encik Ahmad wanted to know how to find out the value of his investments without having to keep calling Ann. Ann took out the newspaper and turned to the unit trust quotation page, then took Ahmad’s ledger and showed him how to calculate the number of units against the latest price to determine the value of his investments. She also reminded him that his investment is for a longer term, so he need not check it frequently as she will be calling on him for their agreed review intervals.

She also informed him that he can always check whether a unit trust agent is registered through Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FIMM) website and also if he is working with a financial planner, then he can check with the Securities Commission of Malaysia whether the financial planner is certified. Also, planners and agents do carry their authorization card, so he can always request to view them if need be.She showed him her FIMM authorization card so that he knows what it looks like.

Ann then checked with Encik Ahmad whether there is anymore clarification he needed and set the appointment for the following week to get his regular savings plan started. “Thank you so much for your time, Encik Ahmad, when we meet up next week to do your regular savings, we should discuss about how to protect your regular savings plan. I will share some ideas with you, is that alright?”

Shaking Ann’s hand, Encik Ahmad replied “Sure Ann. I am glad I met up with you. I feel very relieved and have a better idea about my investment now. I will be sure to call you if anything about investment comes to my mind. Appreciate your help and yes, we shall meet again next week. Let me talk to my group of friends and see if they will meet up with you. I think they can do with your advice. I only hope they have not sold all their unit trust investments yet”.

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Panduan Melabur Dalam Unit Amanah

Apa Itu Unit Amanah?
Unit amanah merupakan salah satu produk pelaburan yang popular dalam kalangan pelabur. Ini dapat dibuktikan dengan adanya 40 buah syarikat pengurusan unit amanah di Malaysia dan 602 dana unit amanah dalam pasaran. Ini bukanlah suatu yang menghairankan kerana unit amanah merupakan salah satu cara untuk pelabur yang mempunyai modal minimum untuk melabur dan mempelbagaikan pelaburan mereka.
Tetapi, apakah itu unit amanah? Unit amanah merupakan skim pelaburan yang mengumpulkan wang daripada ramai pelabur yang berkongsi matlamat kewangan yang sama. Sebagai pertukaran kepada wang itu, dana menerbitkan unit kepada pelabur yang dikenali sebagai pemegang unit. Pemegang unit boleh menjual semula (iaitu menebus) unit mereka kepada dana, atau membeli (dan menjual) unit seterusnya.

Pengurusan Dana
Dana diurus oleh sekumpulan pengurus profesional (dikenali sebagai syarikat pengurusan unit amanah) yang akan melabur wang yang terkumpul dalam portfolio sekuriti seperti saham, bon dan instrumen pasaran wang atau sekuriti-sekuriti lain yang dibenarkan untuk mencapai objektif dana.

Pendapatan
Dana unit amanah memperoleh pendapatan daripada pelbagai pelaburan dalam bentuk dividen, pendapatan faedah dan perolehan modal. Pendapatan ini kemudian diagihkan kepada pemegang saham mengikut nisbah pegangan unit mereka, dalam bentuk dividen atau unit bonus.


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Perlindungan Untuk Pemegang Unit
Sebagai pemegang unit, perlindungan anda dalam unit amanah dipastikan melalui cara unit amanah itu dibentuk. Unit amanah sebenarnya satu amanah. Perlindungannya terkandung dalam surat ikatan yang menyatakan kewajipan, tanggungjawab dan jangkaan tiga pihak dalam unit amanah iaitu:

Ada beberapa sumber maklumat yang perlu anda kaji apabila memilih dana. Sumber tersebut ialah prospektus dana, surat ikatan amanah dan penyata kewangan yang mengandungi laporan tahunan dan interim yang boleh didapati secara percuma untuk semakan di premis pengurus dana.

Baca Prospektus

Prospektus merupakan dokumen yang amat penting kerana ia mengandungi matlamat dana, strategi pelaburan dan polisi serta pulangan dan risiko yang diambil. Ia mungkin bahan bacaan yang agak sukar difahami, tetapi anda perlu membaca dengan teliti untuk memastikan bahawa matlamat pelaburan anda sama dengan dana tersebut.

Kesimpulan

Sebagai pelabur, anda perlu mempertimbang faktor berikut ketika memilih dana:

• Objektif pelaburan – pastikan objektif dana dan matlamat pelaburan anda adalah selaras;

• Polisi pelaburan - jenis pelaburan dan strategi yang dibenarkan perlulah selari dengan matlamat dan  toleransi risiko anda;

• Saiz dana dan aliran pertumbuhan;

• Sebarang sekatan pelaburan, seperti pelaburan minimum yang diperlukan;

• Tahap risiko pelaburannya - unit amanah tidak terlepas daripada risiko sepenuhnya;

• Jenis dan jumlah yuran;

• Prestasi lepas jumlah pulangan tahunan, NAV (nilai aset bersih, iaitu nilai bagi setiap unit), nisbah belanja  dan terutama pembahagian pendapatan kepada pelabur, dan pertumbuhan aset - supaya anda boleh mengukur prestasi dana selama ini;

• Portfolio pelaburan terkini - supaya anda tahu peratusan pegangan bagi setiap jenis aset; dan 

• Maklumat berkenaan Lembaga Pengarah dan kumpulan pengurusan utama.

**Article ini diambil dari majalah Ringgit edisi November 2012.Majalah Ringgit merupakan penerbitan usahasama antara Bank Negara Malaysia dan FOMCA.**

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Adakah Simpanan KWSP Mencukupi Untuk Persaraan?

Simpanan Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) merupakan tabungan dengan elemen pelaburan untuk persaraan. Caruman ini telah ditetapkan oleh undang-undang dan perlu dibuat pada setiap bulan oleh majikan. Setiap bulan 11% daripada pendapatan bulanan anda perlu dicarumkan ke dalam akaun KWSP anda. Persoalannya, adakah simpanan KWSP anda mencukupi untuk menampung keperluan anda ketika persaraan kelak? Berpandukan kepada jadual perbelanjaan asas, diterangkan cara bagaimana untuk  membolehkan anda merancang persaraan dengan menggunakan kalkulator pengiraan persaraan. Anda boleh merujuk laman sesawang www.fomca.org.my/ kewangan untuk keterangan lanjut.

Berdasarkan jadual pengiraan persaraan ilustrasi di sebelah, anda perlu mencapai matlamat simpanan persaraan anda sebanyak RM1,173,280 sebelum mencapai umur persaraan. Ini bermakna, anda hanya mempunyai 25 tahun untuk membuat persediaan persaraan. Dengan mengambil kira kadar inflasi sebanyak 3.6% (anggaran) pada masa sekarang, anda memerlukan komitmen sebanyak RM2,025 sebulan dan RM24,300 setahun. Dalam tempoh 25 tahun dan kadar inflasi yang meningkat, anda memerlukan komitmen sebanyak RM4,888 sebulan dan RM58,664 setahun.

Adakah simpanan anda mencukupi untuk menampung baki usia anda sehingga berumur 75 tahun lagi? Jangka hayat rakyat Malaysia bagi lelaki dijangkakan berumur 75 tahun dan 78 tahun bagi wanita.

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Perbelanjaan Asas
(tidak termasuk pembayaran pinjaman kerana semua pembayaran pinjaman mesti dilangsaikan sebelum anda bersara)

Nota: Jadual pengiraan di atas adalah untuk tujuan ilustrasi sahaja. Keperluan anda mungkin berbeza daripada jadual di atas.Anda dicadangkan untuk berhubung dengan Perunding Kewangan anda sebelum membuat keputusan dalam kewangan.

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Mengapa pentingnya membuat simpanan dari awal?
Berdasarkan jadual di bawah, anda perlu membuat simpanan pada awal usia 20 tahun.

Simpanan bulanan ini dapat dikurangkan jika anda menyimpan pada usia yang lebih muda, berbanding sekiranya anda mula membuat simpanan pada usia 30 tahun, yang memerlukan anda menyimpan lebih banyak untuk mencapai matlamat persaraan yang sama. Masa adalah nilai untuk wang. Bagi mendisiplinkan  diri dengan membuat simpanan, anda perlu memastikan untuk sentiasa membuat simpanan sekurang-kurangnya 10% daripada pendapatan bulanan anda. Ingat! semua orang memerlukan jumlah wang yang besar untuk bersara dengan selesa.

Terdapat dua elemen utama yang memberi kesan terhadap dana persaraan anda, iaitu Kadar Faedah dan Kadar Inflasi. Kedua-dua elemen ini tidak dapat dikawal oleh anda. Oleh itu, sentiasa pastikan anda mempunyai simpanan bulanan secara tetap sebagai persediaan persaraan anda.

**article ini diambil dari Majalah Ringgit keluaran October 2012**

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Unit trust industry set for double-digit growth | theSundaily

This is the latest info about unit trust..

Unit trust industry set for double-digit growth

KUALA LUMPUR (June 3, 2013): Malaysia's unit trust industry is expected to grow by double digits this year, in line with the stock market's bullish performance and, to a certain extent, the uptake of Private Retirement Schemes (PRS).

"Yes, we expect growth in the unit trust industry this year because the equity market is doing well. The growth in the unit trust industry is in tandem with the performance of the equity market," Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FIMM) CEO Ahmad Zakie Ahmad Shariff told SunBizrecently.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) has been on a post-election rally and has gained 6.8% to date. Analysts are bullish on the performance of the stock market, with many predicting the FBM KLCI to surpass 1,700 points by the end of this year.

Zakie does not expect PRS, which saw the first product launch in October 2012, to be a major contributor to growth this year due to the scheme's voluntary element.

"The PRS is voluntary in nature and its contribution is dependant on disposable income. The more disposable income you have, chances are you would contribute more but if the disposable income is not that much then you have a problem," he said.

He also mentioned that the PRS would have to "compete" with other investment products such as real estate and precious metals, namely, gold. "These are the challenges that the industry has to face," he said. 

In 2012, Zakie said, the local equity market performed well with the FBM KLCI increasing by 10.3% and closing at an all-time high at the end of the year.

To read more,just click the link below....
Unit trust industry set for double-digit growth | theSundaily

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