Sunday 25 May 2014

Financial Literacy in Malaysia - A Report By Bank Negara Malaysia

I chanced upon this report by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) entitled "Financial Literacy in Malaysia : Issues and Status Update" for year 2013 while "Googl-ing" for financial education in Malaysia.

After going through this report by BNM, I thought I would like to share some of the important findings in this report.

1) Financial Capability is Important for Life-long Financial Sustainability


From the perspective of financial investment literacy, I've witnessed many Malaysians trusting their hard earned money into investment vehicles that offer good returns. What many don't realize is that any investment that is capable to offer high returns also has the potential to suffer higher losses. This is a an undeniable fact about risk in investing.

Referring to point number 3, through adequate financial education, one would be able to avoid falling into of "poor market practices of Financial Service Providers". How many times have we seen investment advertisements stressing the so called high returns only to realize that if you calculate the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), it is just a little higher then your regular Fixed Deposit Rate. I've proven this point in some of my previous articles. You can find these articles by the searching for the term "IRR" in this blog.

What about the poor practices of unscrupulous consultants and agents, promising high returns in order to meet their sales targets. I'm pretty sure BNM and also Securities Commission (SC) have received their fare share of complaints from consumers with regards to this problem. There's also an article I wrote about "Mutual Fund Must Be Full of Con Men?" that you may find intriguing to read about. 

Ultimately I concur with BNM's report that through proper financial education for consumer, the issue of misleading and malpractices by certain parties in the financial industry can be eliminated.

2) Regulations has its limitation and, therefore Consumer Empowerment forms the first line of defense!



The problem with many financially illiterate Malaysians is that they love to cry over spilled milk. Boo hoo...and they go crying to BNM after realizing they have been cheated of their hard earn money. Well the truth is, there's a limit to what regulation and authorities can do to protect consumers. Instead, consumers should empower themselves through financial education. Some basic financial awareness and knowing the right questions to ask could make a big difference when it comes avoiding scams or falling into a lousy investment scheme.

3) Financial Surveys conducted by BNM
BNM has conducted numerous surveys to gauge consumer financial literacy and financial preparedness in Malaysia. Hopefully by reading the survey outcome, we can take the opportunity to identify our weaknesses and apply the right remedial actions to improve our financial well being.

a) Overall Financial Literacy Survey Outcome


b) Preparedness for Income Shock / Sudden Income Loss


c) Financial Distress and Debt Management


4) What Needs To Be Done Based on Outcome of These Financial Surveys


BNM has put in place various strategies to address the problem at hand (You can read BNM's strategies from this report. Click HERE). 

On the other hand, as individuals, we should also be empowering ourselves and our family with proper financial education. Start with reading and learning the basics from the internet or from financial magazines. 

When it comes to making important financial decisions such as buying a home, a car or even investing in a scheme, always do your homework thoroughly and understand the details first before committing.

Lastly, start planning your retirement now! Learn the basics of retirement planning HERE

That's all for this post! Cheers and Happy Planning!

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Monday 19 May 2014

Top 10 Best Performing Unit Trust Funds As of 15th May 2014

Here's the May 2014 review of the Top 10 Best Performing Unit Trust Funds for China, Asia Excluding Japan and Malaysia. Find out how these funds are performing over the past 4 weeks in comparison with their respective benchmark!

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. Seriously you should!


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


5 Years Annualised Ranked 1 (Overall) 
Phillip Master Equity Growth Fund (+26.48% per annum)

5 Years Annualised Ranked 1 (Non-Islamic) 
- Phillip Master Equity Growth Fund (+26.48% per annum)

5 Years Annualised Ranked 1 (Islamic Equity) 
- MAAKL-HDBS Flexi Fund (+21.86% per annum)

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

Fund Name
YTD as of
15th Apr 2014
YTD as of
15th May 2014
4 Weeks
Gain / Loss (%)
4 Weeks Gain/
Loss Rankings
Previous
4 Weeks Gain/Loss Rankings
Phillip Master Equity Growth Fund
3.56
3.45
-0.11
9
5
Kenanga Growth Fund
7.53
9.06
1.53
2
2
CIMB-Principal Wholesale Equity Fund
7.06
7.29
0.23
7
1
MAAKL-HDBS Flexi Fund
2.13
3.03
0.9
3
7
Kenanga Syariah Growth Fund
4.76
6.34
1.58
1
4
CIMB-Principal Equity Fund
-0.44
0.25
0.69
4
8
RHB-OSK Malaysia DIVA Fund
2.97
2.89
-0.08
8
N/A
CIMB-Principal Equity Fund 2
2.62
2.95
0.33
6
6
Hwang AIIMAN Growth
4.93
5.51
0.58
5
3
MAAKL-CM Shariah Flexi Fund
7.82
5.61
-2.21
10
N/A
AVERAGE 4 WEEKS GAIN/LOSS (%)
0.34

Best Performing Fund over 4 weeks period: 
Non Syariah : Kenanga Growth Fund (+1.53%)
Syariah : Kenanga Syariah Growth Fund (+1.58%)

Worst Performing Fund 8 weeks period:
Non Syariah : Phillip Master Equity Growth Fund (-0.11%)
Syariah : MAAKL-CM Shariah Flexi Fund (-2.21%)

c) Performance Comparison with the KLSE Index between 15 April 2014 to 15 May 2014


KLSE Index (%) Gain/Loss : +1.40%

Comparison With:
  • Average Top 10 Unit Trust Equity (%) Gain/Loss : +0.34% (Under performed the KLSE Index)
  • Non Syariah - Kenanga Growth Fund : +1.53% (Out performed the KLSE Index)
  • Syariah - Kenanga Syariah Growth Fund : +1.58% (Out performed the KLSE Index)

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


5 Years Annualised Ranked 1 (Overall) 
Public Islamic Asia Dividend Fund (+12.44% per annum)

5 Years Annualised Ranked 1 (Non Islamic)
Eastspring Investments Asia Pacific Equity MY Fund (+7.69% per annum)

5 Years Annualised Ranked 1 (Islamic) 
- Public Islamic Asia Dividend Fund (+12.44% per annum)

b) 4 Weeks Gain/Loss Ranking Table for Category Asia Exc Japan Funds:

Fund Name
YTD as of
15th Apr 2014
YTD as of
15th May 2014
4 Weeks
Gain / Loss (%)
4 Weeks Gain/
Loss Rankings
Previous
4 Weeks Gain/Loss Rankings
Public Islamic Asia Dividend Fund
0.47
0.93
0.46
6
3
Public Asia Ittikal Fund
-0.36
0.21
0.57
5
6
PB Islamic Asia Equity Fund
0.97
1.3
0.33
8
4
Pheim Asia Ex-Japan Islamic
2.86
5.45
2.59
1
7
PB Islamic Asia Strategic Sector Fund
0.15
0.49
0.34
7
5
Eastspring Investments Asia Pacific Equity MY Fund
2.28
3.01
0.73
4
1
CIMB Islamic Asia Pacific Equity Fund
Newcomer
-0.43
N/A
N/A
N/A
Eastspring Investments Asia Pacific Shariah Equity Fund
-3.33
-1.94
1.39
2
8
Hong Leong Asia-Pacific Dividend Fund
2.66
1.9
-0.76
9
N/A
Hwang Select Asia (Ex Japan) Opportunity Fund
0.67
1.92
1.25
3
N/A
AVERAGE 8 WEEKS GAIN/LOSS (%)
0.77

Best Performing Fund over 4 weeks period: 
Non Syariah : Eastspring Investments Asia Pacific Equity MY Fund (+0.73%)
Syariah : Pheim Asia Ex-Japan Islamic (+2.59%)

Worst Performing Fund over 4 weeks period:
Non Syariah :  Hong Leong Asia-Pacific Dividend Fund (-0.76%)
Syariah : PB Islamic Asia Equity Fund (+0.33%)

c) Performance Comparison with the MSCI Asia Excluding Japan Index between 15 April 2014 to 15 May 2014


MSCI Asia Exc Japan Index (%) Gain/Loss : +1.33%

Comparison With:
  • Average Top 10 Unit Trust (%) Gain.Loss : +0.77(Under performed the MSCI Index)
  • Non Syariah - Eastspring Investments Asia Pacific Equity MY Fund : +0.73% (Under performed the MSCI Index)
  • Syariah - Pheim Asia Ex-Japan Islamic Fund : +2.59% (Out performed the MSCI Index)

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


5 Years Annualised Ranked 1 (Overall) 
CIMB Principal Greater China Equity Fund (+5.98% per annum)

5 Years Annualised Ranked 1 (Non Islamic)
CIMB Principal Greater China Equity Fund (+5.98% per annum)

5 Years Annualised Ranked 1 (Islamic) 
- Public China Ittikal Fund (+4.92% per annum)

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

Fund Name
YTD as of
15th Apr 2014
YTD as of
15th May 2014
4 Weeks
Gain / Loss (%)
4 Weeks Gain/
Loss Rankings
Previous
4 Weeks Gain/Loss Rankings
CIMB-Principal Greater China Equity Fund
-0.34
-2.27
-1.93
9
4
Public China Ittikal Fund
0.25
0.85
0.6
1
1
PB China Pacific Equity Fund
-5.5
-5.9
-0.4
4
8
PB China Titans Fund
-3.36
-3.74
-0.38
3
3
Public China Select Fund
-3.33
-3.38
-0.05
2
2
MAAKL Greater China Fund
-3.93
-5.26
-1.33
8
10
AmIslamic Greater China
-5.47
-6.03
-0.56
5
7
Eastspring Investments Dinasti Equity Fund
-3.46
-4.46
-1
6
5
Manulife Investment - China Value Fund
-4.7
-7.14
-2.44
10
9
Pacific ELITE China Growth Fund
-3.85
-4.89
-1.04
7
6
AVERAGE 4 WEEKS GAIN/LOSS (%)
-0.85

Best Performing Fund over 4 weeks period: 
Non Syariah : Public China Select Fund (-0.05%)
Syariah : Public China Ittikal Fund (+0.60%)

Worst Performing Fund over 4 weeks period:
Non Syariah :  Manulife Investment - China Value Fund (-2.44%)
Syariah : Eastspring Investment Dinasti Equity Fund (-1.00%)

Performance Comparison with the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) Index between 15 April 2014 to 15 May 2014


SSE Index (%) Gain/Loss : -3.65%

Comparison With:
  • Average Top 10 Unit Trust Equity (%) Gain.Loss : -0.85% (Out performed the SSE Index)
  • Non Syariah - Public China Select Fund : -0.05% (Out performed the SSE Index)
  • Syariah - Public China Ittikal Fund : +0.60(Out performed the SSE Index)
*******************
That's all for this review folks!


Cheers and Happy Investing!



Like to start investing passively via Unit Trust as well as save more via Lower Sales Charge?

Feel free to contact shanesee03@gmail.com for further advisory.