All About Investing Into Unit Trust via EPF Withdrawal

This is another touchy subject to write about especially when the topic involves Employees Provident Fund (EPF). 

To start off, allow me to highlight figures from EPF Year 2012 withdrawals. In a news released by EPF dated 10th of July 2013, the total amount withdrawn from EPF by Malaysians in 2012 was RM32.98 billion, an increase of 10.3% as compared to RM29.90 billion in 2011. And according to an article from MySinChew, out of the RM32.98 billion withdrawn, RM6.64 billion were withdrawn under the category of "Investment Withdrawal". 

This proves that the introduction of Investment Withdrawal Schemes by EPF have been well received by Malaysian as proven by the year to year increase in withdrawals. But what exactly is an Investment Withdrawal from EPF? 

Let's take a look at the guideline provided by EPF;

Purpose:

• This withdrawal allows you to withdraw part of your savings in Account 1 for investments to increase your retirement fund to support your life after retirement.
• You are allowed to invest not more than 20% of the total amount in excess of your Basic Savings in Account 1 through the Appointed Fund Management Institutes approved by the Ministry of Finance.

Basic Savings:

With regards to the second statement from the Purpose section, Basic Savings is defined as;

"A pre-determined savings amount in your Account 1 according to your age to enable you to achieve a minimum savings amount of RM120,000.00 when you are 55 years old. The savings cannot be withdrawn until you are 55 years old."

The Basic Savings Schedule:

Click to Enlarge

List of Appointed Fund Management Institutes and Approved Funds for EPF Investment Withdrawal Scheme

In total there are 27 Fund Management Institutes which have been appointed by EPF for "Skim Pelaburan Ahli KWSP". 

*Pheim Unit Trust Berhad has been suspended by EPF as of 25th August 2011

Bil	IPD
1.	MAYBAN ASSET MANAGEMENT SDN BHD  (IPD001)
2.	OSK-UOB UNIT TRUST MANAGEMENT BERHAD (IPD 002)
3.	PUBLIC MUTUAL BERHAD (IPD 003)
4.	AMANAH SAHAM SARAWAK (IPD 004)
5.	HONG LEONG ASSET MANAGEMENT BERHAD (IPD 009)
6.	MIDF AMANAH ASSET MANAGEMENT BERHAD (IPD 012)
7.	TA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT BERHAD (IPD 014)
8.	AMINVESTMENT SERVICES BERHAD (IPD 019)
9.	ASM INVESTMENT SERVICES BERHAD (IPD 020)
10.	PACIFIC MUTUAL FUND BERHAD (IPD 022)
11.	PERMODALAN BSN BERHAD (IPD 025)
12.	RHB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SDN BHD (IPD 026)
13.	AMANAH MUTUAL BERHAD (IPD 032)
14.	APEX INVESTMENT SERVICES BERHAD (IPD 033)
15.	CIMB-PRINCIPAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (IPD 034)
16.	AMANAH SAHAM NASIONAL BERHAD (IPD 035)
17.	AMANAHRAYA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SDN BHD (IPD 038)
18.	AFFIN FUND MANAGEMENT BERHAD (IPD 040)
19.	LIBRA INVEST BERHAD (IPD 042)
20.	MAAKL MUTUAL BERHAD (IPD 043)
21.	EASTSPRING INVESTMENTS BERHAD (IPD 046)
22.	BIMB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT BERHAD (IPD 049)
23.	ALLIANCE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT BERHAD (IPD 052)
24.	PHEIM UNIT TRUST BERHAD (IPD 053) (Nota: Perkhidmatan digantung mulai 25 Ogos 2011)
25.	KUMPULAN SENTIASA CEMERLANG SDN BHD (IPD 054)
26.	HWANG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT BERHAD (IPD 055)
27.	KENANGA INVESTORS BERHAD (IPD 056)

The 26 active Fund Management Institutes offers a total of 206 Trust Funds for Investors to select from. Among the top performing EPF approved Unit Trust Funds that investors can choose to invest are:

EPF Approved Unit Trust Fund	Attributes
Hwang Select Opportunity Fund	Equity Malaysia fund. Has returned 549.93% since its inception on 7th September 2001
Hwang Select Balanced Fund	No.1 ranked Balanced Fund in terms of returns over a 5 year period (as of 31st May 2013) according to Personal Money Magazine
Kenanga Growth Fund	No.2 ranked Equity Malaysia fund in terms of returns over a 5 year period  (as of 31st May 2013) according to Personal Money Magazine
Hwang AIIMAN Growth Fund	No.2 ranked Islamic Equity Malaysia fund over 5 year period  (as of 31st May 2013) according to Personal Money Magazine. Winner of 2013 The Edge-Lippers Award for Best Islamic Malaysia Equity fund under the 5 Year Category
Eastspring Dana Al-Ilham	Winner of The 2013 Edge-Lippers Award for Best Islamic Malaysia Equity fund under the 3 Year and 10 Year Category

For full list of EPF approved unit trust funds, click HERE.

Eligibility 

(i) A Malaysian Citizen; OR

(ii) A Malaysian Citizen who has made Leaving The Country Withdrawal before 1 August 1995 and has opted to re-contribute to the EPF; OR

(iii) A Non-Malaysian Citizen who:

• Has become an EPF member before 1 August 1998; OR
• Has obtained a Permanent Resident status (PR).

You have not reached 55 years of age at the time the EPF receives your application; AND

You have Account 1 savings of at least RM5,000.00 more than the required basic savings amount

Frequency of Withdrawal

• Investment can be made at the intervals of three months from the date of the last transfer, subject to the availability of the required balance in Account 1
• Subsequent investments may be made with the same Fund Management Institutes or other approved Fund Management Institutes. However investment is only allowed with one Fund Management Institutes at any one time.

Investment Top-Up Using Own Funds

You are not allowed to top-up your investment using your own funds.

Investment Risk Liability

You are fully responsible for this investment. EPF will not be responsible for any loss incurred.

Annual EPF Dividend on the Amount Invested

You will not be paid dividend declared by EPF on any amount you have invested as this amount has not been invested by EPF

If An Approved Fund Management Institute Has Been Delisted

Your investment with the Fund Management Institute must be sold and the funds returned to EPF by that Fund Management Institute

Release of Controls on Investments

EPF will release its controls on your investment at the Fund Management Institutes when you reach the age of 55 years old or have withdrawn all of your EPF savings under the Leaving the Country, Incapacitation, Pensionable Employees and Death Withdrawals.

Claims or selling of the invested units will be handled by you/next-of-kin with the Fund Management Institutes.

Withdrawal Amount Eligibility

You can withdraw your savings as follows:

• 20% from your savings in excess of the Basic Savings amount in your Account 1
• The minimum amount for investment withdrawal is RM1,000.00
• The maximum amount cannot exceed 20% of the savings amount in excess of your Basic Savings
• Formula: (Account 1 – Basic Savings) x 20%

Tips on Investing into Unit Trust Via Your EPF

1. Considering that this is a long term investment between 10-30 years, it is highly advisable to invest into funds with proven track record in terms of total returns.

2. The amount for every EPF withdrawal is considerably large in comparison with regular cash investment. Therefore, finding a top performing fund is vital to ensure that the money you are investing in is working doubly hard for you. 

3.  Ensure that you continue to invest regularly (intervals of three months) to utilize the benefits of Dollar Cost Averaging. 

4. If you are unsure/unclear/uncertain about how to start an investment Unit Trust via EPF withdrawal, please seek a professional and experienced consultant to assist you in terms of 

• recommending a fund that suits your risk nature
• explaining the risk that comes with unit trust investing
• explaining the entire process of EPF withdrawal for investing

Tip  number 4  was clearly highlighted in an article published by EPF dated 18th July 2013;

Summary

As our society become aware of the importance of long term financial planning, passive investment vehicle such as unit trust is being utilized to ensure that the potential annual returns (taking into account the risk involved) are able to beat the inflation rate. I believe most of us would like our retirement savings to passively work hard for us while we commit ourselves to important things in our life such as our family and career. Agreed?

Despite the allowance given by EPF for Malaysians to withdraw their retirement fund for investment, we as investors should play a role by putting additional effort especially during the initial stages before investing. Find out what is unit trust investing all about. Understand the risk. Seek answers from your consultant if you find that you're unsure of certain things. Grill them if you must. Search for the top performing funds that have proven track records. Ultimately take that leap of faith by investing long term and let the fund manager prove his or her credibility.

Last but not least, always remember that every effort that you've placed in investing would go a long way towards ensuring your retirement savings work the hardest for you!

Cheers and Happy Investing!

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Like to start your own EPF withdrawal for unit trust investment via the best unit trust funds in the market? Contact me at shanesee03@gmail.com. 

Phillip Capital 4th Annual Investment Conference 2013, A Raging Success!

2 June 2015 (Update) - Good news everyone! You can also attend the 6th Annual Investment Conference scheduled on the 27th of June 2015 absolutely FREE. Check out all the details HERE

****************************************

If I had one sentence to summarized the Phillip Capital 4th Annual Investment Conference 2013, it would be "A RAGING SUCCESS!"

When I arrived at the Istana Hotel about the 8.30am, I was caught by surprised by the long queue of eager investors waiting to register themselves. Despite setting up 7 rows of registration counters, the queue continued to form as more and more people begin to arrive. In fact, I was made known by the organizers that some investors arrived as early as 7:00am!

While waiting for the conference to start, investors took the opportunity to mingle and visit booths that were set up around the main gallery. Booths from popular funds houses such as Kenanga Investors Berhad, Hwang Investment Management and AmInvest have always been a crowd puller due to their popularity. Then there's also the new kid on the block, Aberdeen Fund House which managed to draw many curious investors to their booth.

Another crowd puller was the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives booth and the Phillip Futures booth. Although both booths are not related to unit trust investment, investors were attracted to find out more about alternate investment option, specifically Futures.

Not forgetting, a mega event such as this is never complete without a lucky draw competition to get the crowd excited. Hence through the kind sponsorship of Phillip Mutual, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, Hotel Istana and eSignal, a lucky draw session would be held at the end of conference offering the grand prize of RM1,000 worth of Investment Value with Phillip Master Equity Growth Fund. To participate, investors are required to get at least 6 stamps from different booths. 

Grand Prize is RM1,000 worth of Investment Value with Phillip Master Equity Growth Fund

What made the conference extremely attractive to investors were the list of speakers scheduled to speak. They consist of;

Keynote Address by Mr. Chong Kim Seng, CEO Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad

Main Session Speakers

1. Mr. Jeffry Tan Seng Hui, Executive Vice President for Product Development, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad.
2. Mr. Gerald Ambrose, CEO of Aberdeen Islamic Asset Management Sdn. Bhd.
3. Mr. Chen Fan Fai, Chief Investment Officer of Eastspring Investment Berhad
4. Miss Lee Sook Yee, Chief Investment Officer of Kenanga Investors Berhad

Concurrent Session Speakers

1. Mr. Suresh@Maniam Mookiah, Head of Business Development, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad.
2. Mr. Chen Fan Fai, Chief Investment Officer of Eastspring Investment Berhad
3. Mr. Bharat Joshi, Investment Manager of Aberdeen Islamic Asset Management Sdn. Bhd.
4. Mr. Chung Yee Wah, Chief Investment Officer of Kenanga Islamic Investors Berhad
5. Mr. Ang Kok Heng, Chief Investment Officer, Phillip Capital Management Sdn. Bhd.
6. Mr. Mohd Fauzi Mohd Tahir, Executive Director and Head of Islamic Equities of Aminvest Berhad
7. Miss Tan Angie, Portfolio Manager of Hwang Investment Management Berhad
8. Mr Jay Tan, Proffessional Trader
9. Mr. Nicolos Wang Zilong, Strategist, Phillip Futures Pte Ltd, Singapore

Forum Session

1. Mr. Chen Fan Fai, Chief Investment Officer of Eastspring Investment Berhad
2. Mr. Bharat Joshi, Investment Manager of Aberdeen Islamic Asset Management Sdn. Bhd.
3. Mr. Sree Kumar, Executive Vice President, Business Development & Marketing, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad
4. Mr. Abdul Razak bin Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director of Kenanga Investors Berhad

Such was the "star studded" list of speakers that the event was a sell out with an attendance of almost 1400 people! FYI, all 3 Main Ballroom of Istana Hotel were fully occupied! Here are some pictures taken during the main session:

Center Stage

Left Side 

Right Side

Presentations given during the main session consist of the following:

Click to Enlarge

After the main session, the ballrooms were split into 3 to accommodate 3 separate concurrent sessions carried out between 1.30pm to 3.30pm. Investors were given the luxury to attend sessions according to what they wish to know more about. Topics for the concurrent session were;

Click to Enlarge

Tea Break at 3.30pm was a welcomed sight as investors excitedly discussed what they have just learned over coffee. Booths were crowded with investors as they seek to find out more about funds managed by the speakers. 

The second last session of the conference was the open forum session moderated by Mr. Phua Lee Kerk, Chief Strategist from Phillip Mutual Berhad. Forum Panelist consist of Mr. Bharat, Mr. Sree, Mr Chen Fan Fai and Mr. Abdul Razak.

Forum Panelist

Questions posed by investors to the panel were rather challenging (at least by my own standard) yet were answered with aplomb by the panel of experienced experts.

Some of the interesting questions raised were:

1. What is the global economic outlook?

2. Will the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis reoccur if the Quarterly Easing stops?

3. Why is EPF buying and selling stocks on a daily basis?

4. Will there be correction of more then 10% on the KLSE Index in the next 6 months?

The finale of the event is of course the lucky draw session. A round of congratulations to the winners of the lucky draw which unfortunately did not include me.

Summary
In a nutshell, the Phillip Capital 4th Annual Conference was worth every penny and time spent atttnding it. I for one felt that the conference was a raging success in terms of:

1. Bringing the latest outlook and views from the experts.

2. Changing the mindset of investors about unit trust investing.

3. Allowing investors to understand how fund managers from different fund houses manage their investment portfolio.

4. Offering investors an opportunity to further understand what Futures and high risk investing is all about.

Despite not winning anything from the lucky draw, the knowledge I've gained from attending the conference serves as a reaffirmation of the path that I've chosen in planning my long term investment via unit trust. That the funds I've personally invested and recommended to others are in the safe hands of experienced and fundamentally strong fund managers.

With that I bid all of you happy investing and hope to see all of you next year at the 5th Phillip Capital Conference!

If you like reading this post, it would do me a great favor by:
1. Sharing this post on your Facebook!
2. Liking my Facebook Page
3. Like to know more retirement planning and starting your own unit trust investment with the best funds in the market? Email me at shanesee03@gmail.com

P.s : Just to share some personal pictures taken during the conference:

Key People of Phillip Mutual Berhad
Left : Mr . Ahmad Syazni Hafriz (Manager, Online Business Development), Mr Mohd Fadzli bin Mohd Anas (Chief Executive Officer), Mr. Nelson Yen (Zone Manager Southern)

With Mr. Chen Fan Fai, Chief Investment Officer of Eastspring Investment Berhad

With Mr.  Bharat Joshi, Investment Manager of Aberdeen Islamic Asset Management Sdn. Bhd.

5 Facts That You Might Not Know About Our Central Government Debt

I know I've been posting lots about our country's debt problem. Well guess what? Here's more...

5 Facts That You Might Not Know About Our Central Government Debt

1. As of March 2013, our Country's debt is at a whopping RM508.892 billion! Comparing the debt figure to the Petronas Net Profit for 2012 of RM59.1 billion, it takes about 8.61 years worth of oil drilling just to pay off the debt.

2. From 1st Quarter of 2007 till 1st Quarter of 2013 (6 years), this is how our country's debt graph look like:

I wish my salary rise was that exorbitant!

3. For the 1st Quarter of 2007, our Country's debt is at RM250.006 billion. Within the span of 6 years our debt has risen by an additional RM258.886 billion! That's a +103.55% increase!

4. Out of the RM508.892 billion worth of debt, about 96.82% or RM492.750 billion of it consist of Domestic Debts. These are debts from loans taken up by the Government from banking systems and private debt securities. Now where do banks obtain money from? Think about it.

5. Looking from an investment point of view. If I have RM250,006 billion to invest and would like to reach RM508.892 billion within 6 years, my annual investment returns via compounding interest would have to be approximately 12.58%!

Data obtained from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). Click HERE to verify.

Cheers and Happy Investing!

Related Post:
1. How Does GST, Subsidy Cuts, Credit Rating affects us as Malaysian?
2. Indonesia's Inflation Crisis...Malaysians should learn from it!

If you like reading this post, it would do me a great favor by:

1. Sharing this post on your Facebook!
2. Liking my Facebook Page

P/s : If you are looking for a passive long term investment specifically unit trust, feel free to contact me at shanesee03@gmail.com

Indonesia's Inflation Crisis...Malaysians should learn from it!

In an article from The Star dated 12th of July 2013, our closest neighbor Indonesia is currently facing a mounting inflation crisis largely due to the fuel hike implemented by their government. A snippet from the article as shown below indicates that inflation in Indonesia would rise to about 7.5% on an annual basis due to the fuel hike.

Inflation rate as we all know is a measurement of price increase/decrease of consumer products and services. One of the key item from the list of consumer product is of course fuel. Hence any movement of the fuel price in terms of reduced subsidy or a hike in pricing would have a direct effect towards the inflation rate of a country. 

In Indonesia's case, the reduction of fuel subsidy was inevitable in a effort to reduce the country's debt as highlighted in this post from English.news.cn. 

Despite strong violent protest by students and workers from the lower income group, the fuel hike had to carried out in order to save guard the country's debt from spiraling further down and to prevent further downgrading of the country's credit rating.

Would Malaysia face the same problem in the near future?

Yes, a definite yes! The question is when would the inevitable arrive?

In an older post entitled "How Does GST, Subsidy Cuts, Credit Rating affects us as Malaysian?", I've clearly stated that our countries debt level is at a worrying level. What we would eventually face is what our neighbor, Indonesia is currently facing. Two key remedial strategy must be implemented by the government:

1. Goods and Service Tax (GST)

2. Subsidy Cut - in other words reducing/removal of subsidy for key items such as:

The implementation of subsidy cut would then increase the price of consumer products and ultimately inflation will rise. A simple flowchart below illustrates the impact Malaysians would eventually face:

Summary

If our neighbor Indonesia is already facing this problem, what reasons can we come up with to say that Malaysia would not face the same problem? Although we can't change the economic outlook, we can still safeguard the value of our money/savings through investing in investment vehicles that can potentially generate returns which are higher then the inflation rate. Taking for example Indonesia's inflation rate of 7.5% as a benchmark, do you think that the money sitting in your Fixed Deposit Account (4%), Savings Account (0.25%) or even your retirement fund (5.5%) would be insufficient to battle inflation?

You can choose to ignore what you've just read by brushing aside the facts, but regret not when the actual scenario befall upon you. Reality bites, so live with it!

Cheers and Happy Investing!

P.s : I've been an ardent supporter of utilizing unit trust (UT) investment for my retirement. I believe UT being a passive investment is capable to generate returns that are higher then inflation and at the same time gives me the freedom to pursue my interest as well as career. If you like to know more about UT investing from my point view, feel free to drop me an email at shanesee03@gmail.com 

P.p.s : Select the best unit trust to invest in by reading the Equity Malaysia category of this post : Top 10 Best Performing Unit Trust Funds As of 10th July 2013

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Top 10 Best Performing Unit Trust Funds As of 10th July 2013

If this is your first time reading this review, I would highly recommend that you read "A Guide Towards Understanding Unit Trust Performance Table" before proceeding.

Review
Fund Category : Asia excluding Japan 
Top 10 Best Performing Fund for Category Asia Excluding Japan (click Image to Enlarge):

4 Weeks Gain/Loss Ranking Table for Category Asia Excluding Japan:

Fund Name	YTD as of 7th June 2013	YTD as of 10th July 2013	4 Weeks Gain / Loss (%)	4 Weeks Gain/ Loss Rankings	Previous 2 Weeks Gain/Loss Rankings
Public Islamic Asia Dividend Fund	-1.24	-2.2	-0.96	2	1
Public Asia Ittikal Fund	-1.81	-3.18	-1.37	3	6
PB Islamic Asia Equity Fund	-1.95	-4.12	-2.17	5	4
Pheim Asia Ex-Japan Islamic	5.03	5.09	0.06	1	2
Eastspring Investments Asia Pacific Shariah Equity Fund	-0.88	-4.06	-3.18	6	5
PB Islamic Asia Strategic Sector Fund	-0.41	-1.86	-1.45	4	N/A
MAAKL Pacific Fund	-0.37	-4.83	-4.46	8	N/A
CIMB Islamic Asia Pacific Equity Fund	-0.83	-5.38	-4.55	9	3
MAAKL Shariah Asia-Pacific Fund	-6.22	-10.58	-4.36	7	7
Pheim Asia Ex-Japan Fund	Newcomer	-5.87	N/A	N/A	N/A
AVERAGE 4 WEEKS GAIN/LOSS (%)			-2.49

Review of Asia Excluding Japan Funds:

Despite not reviewing the performance of funds for the past one month, I've been following closely the movement of the China as well as Asia Pacific Market. Poor performance of Asia Pacific market over the past one month was largely due to the massive dip by Japan's NIKKEI, shedding 843.94 points on a single day, the 13th of June 2013. See NIKKEI's chart below:

NIKKEI's 3 months Graph

The spillover effect of the NIKKEI and the direct effects of China's Stock Market volatility can be seen on all Asia Pacific countries indices as shown by the 1 month chart for MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index:

MSCI Asia Pacific exc Japan Benchmark Index
(7 June - 10 July 2013)

Referring to the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index, the benchmark index shed 19.541 points (-4.38%) between 7th June 2013 - 10th July 2013. Comparing the benchmark drop of -4.38% to the average 4 Weeks Gain/Loss for all 10 funds at -2.49%, the performance of the top 10 funds are considered acceptable in terms of "making lesser loss as compared to the benchmark".

In terms of individual fund performance Pheim Asia Ex Japan Islamic (PAEJI) fund continue to show strong resilience against the benchmark index. PAEJI went against the trend and managed to gain +0.06% over the 4 week period while other funds made losses. On the other end, the biggest loser over the 4 week period goes to CIMB Islamic Asia Pacific Equity Fund (CIAPEF), shedding -4.55%. 

In conclusion, the volatility of China and Hong Kong stock exchanges over the past one month as well as the spillover effects of Japan have vastly contributed to the poor performance of funds in this category. More volatility is expected for the coming months and investors should be wary when considering to invest into funds from this category.

Review
Fund Category : Greater China

Top 10 Best Performing Fund for Category Greater China (click Image to Enlarge): 

4 Weeks Gain/Loss Ranking Table for Category Greater China:

Fund Name	YTD as of 7th June 2013	YTD as of 10th July 2013	4 Weeks Gain / Loss (%)	4 Weeks Gain/ Loss Rankings	Previous 2 Weeks Gain/Loss Rankings
PB China Titans Fund	-1.34	-3.14	-1.8	4	6
CIMB-Principal Greater China Equity Fund	-3.07	-8.28	-5.21	8	2
CIMB-Principal Greater China Equity Fund	-3.07	-8.28	-5.21	8	2
Public China Ittikal Fund	-3.23	-3.23	0	1	7
PB China Pacific Equity Fund	-0.52	-2.93	-2.41	5	9
Public China Select Fund	1.47	0.26	-1.21	3	8
AmIslamic Greater China	-6.93	-7.6	-0.67	2	10
Eastspring Investments Dinasti Equity Fund	-0.85	-4.56	-3.71	7	4
Hwang China Select Fund	10.81	8.12	-2.69	6	1
MAAKL Greater China Fund	-2.58	-7.95	-5.37	10	5
AVERAGE 4 WEEKS GAIN/LOSS (%)			-2.83

Review of Greater China Funds:

The China Stock Market or commonly known as Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has shed 203.7 points (-9.21%) between 7 June 2013 - 10 July 2013. 

SSE Index (7 June - 10 July 2013)

In comparison with the average 4 weeks gain/loss of -2.83%, all 10 funds from this category were able to outperform the benchmark SSE index. In terms of individual fund performance over the four week period, Public China Ittikal Fund (PCIF) is the top performer with its YTD remained unchanged. Worst performing fund belongs to MAAKL Greater China Fund, shedding about -5.37% of its NAV. 

Another outstanding performer is Hwang China Select Fund (HCSF). HCSF is the only fund among the top 10 whom achieved double digit gains (+13.63%) over a one year period. Other funds either make minimal gains or losses. In my previous review, I specifically single out HCSF as the fund for investors to select if they see an opportunity to invest in the Greater China Market.  

In terms of market outlook, rumor has it that the China government intends to ease their monetary policy in a bid to overcome the problem of money shortage in China's financial system. The shortage in money occurred because an increase in the demand for capital coincided with a reduction of money flowing into the system and an increase in money flowing out. 

My views about the China market remains the same as before. I'm not touching China funds even with a 10 feet pole. Invest only if you have the extra money to do so.

Review
Fund Category : Equity Malaysia

Top 10 Best Performing Fund for Category Equity Malaysia (click Image to Enlarge):

4 Weeks Gain/Loss Ranking Table for Category Equity Malaysia:

Fund Name	YTD as of 7th June 2013	YTD as of 10th July 2013	2 Weeks Gain / Loss (%)	4 Weeks Gain/ Loss Rankings	Previous 2 Weeks Gain/Loss Rankings
MAAKL-HDBS Flexi Fund	13.61	12.43	-1.18	6	10
Kenanga Growth Fund	15.91	14.8	-1.11	5	2
Phillip Master Equity Growth Fund	20.78	23.79	3.01	1	1
Kenanga Syariah Growth Fund	14.11	13.65	-0.46	3	4
Hwang AIIMAN Growth	18.89	16.3	-2.59	9	5
CIMB-Principal Wholesale Equity Fund	12.72	13.99	1.27	2	3
CIMB-Principal Equity Fund	14.31	13.31	-1	4	6
AMB Dividend Trust Fund	8.43	6.25	-2.18	8	9
MAAKL Dividend Fund	13.5	12	-1.5	7	8
Public Focus Select Fund	10.8	7.55	-3.25	10	7
AVERAGE 4 WEEKS GAIN/LOSS (%)			-0.90

Review of Equity Malaysia Funds:

As the saying goes, "There is no place like home!" This same saying applies to the expertise of fund managers whom at the end of the day excel most from investing into the local stock exchange rather then China or Asia Pacific.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) index over the period of 4 weeks have been displaying resilience against the movement of the Dow Jones, SSE and the NIKKEI. While indexes of Asian counterparts have fluctuated in tandem with the movement of major indexes as mentioned previously, our KLSE index tend to move with a mind of its own. With major political and social concerns over at Egypt and Brazil, it seems that foreign investors are finding investment in developing countries, specifically Malaysia. The long term sentiment among investors towards the KLSE remain bullish and should stay so for the near future.

In terms of individual fund performance, once again...I repeat once again Phillip Master Equity Growth Fund (PMEGF) has performed beyond expectation. While other funds suffered minimal losses, PMEGF went against the trend and made an additional +3.01% gain. A few reviews ago, I mentioned that PMEGF is the rising star among the top 10 funds and once again the fund's performance for this review has proven me correct. 

On the other end of the table, Public Focus Select Fund is the biggest loser here by shedding -3.25% of its NAV. Some might call me bias yet I would continue to reiterate my stand that Public Mutual Funds are overrated. Nuff said.

Cheers and Happy Investing everyone!

P/s : If you like to invest into Philip Master Equity Growth Fund, Hwang AIIMAN Growth or any other funds that you feel is right, do contact me at shanesee03@gmail.com

P.P/s : All recommendations are based on my experience and learning. If you feel what I have recommended is bullshit/crap/nonsense, feel free to vent your frustration by leaving a comment behind. 

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