Fund managers attribute excellent performance despite volatile markets to team strategy and investment philosophy

 
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Eastspring Investments Berhad  (“Eastspring”) today took home a total of 17 awards including the Best Mixed Mixed Assets Award- Malaysia Provident  at The Edge | Thomson Reuters Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2017¹ .
 
Eight (8) of Eastspring’s equity, balanced and mixed asset funds were accorded “best performing” in their respective Lipper categories (please refer to Appendix 1).
 
“Our award wins this year marks our biggest haul of awards ever and is testament of our company’s capabilities in bringing value to our investors,” says Raymond Tang, Chief Executive Officer.
 
“We believe that it was a combination of our fund management team’s strategy and our investment philosophy that contributed to this excellent performance”, says Tang. 
 
“Last year (2016) was another year of volatility and posed many challenges for fund managers,” said Rudie Chan, Chief Investment Officer. “Weak crude oil prices increased investor concerns of Malaysia’s missing fiscal deficit targets, and raised the risk of a current account deficit.  Global events such as the Brexit and the US Presidential Elections made markets more volatile and investing even more challenging. Domestically, investor sentiment remained weak as corporate earnings continued to disappoint and the sharply weaker Ringgit was a dampener on consumers,” says Chan.
 
“For these reasons, we were fairly cautious for the bulk of 2016 amid internal and external headwinds. As such, cash levels for most funds were relatively high for most of the year, but we became more optimistic in 4Q16 as stock valuations became more attractive after the correction in the market,” continued Chan.  “The shift to risky assets seen in 2016 is set to accelerate this year. Malaysian stocks after three years of subdued performance look more attractive, valuations-wise. Fundamentals for Malaysia are improving with stabilising commodity prices and recovery in corporate earnings. The weaker ringgit should attract foreign interest to Malaysian equities, as the risk-reward ratio looks more favourable”, he said.
 
“We are seeing more buying opportunities for both equities and bonds as compared to a year ago. Our appetite for equities has increased but as always, with our bottom-up approach, we continue to be on the look-out for attractively valued stocks with good long term growth potential,” says Chan.
 
¹The Edge|Thomson Reuters Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2017, announced on 27 February 2017. Past performance of the funds/Eastspring is not indicative of future performance.


APPENDIX 1
 

Source: The Edge|Thomson Reuters Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2017, announced on 27 February 2017. Past performance of the funds/Eastspring is not indicative of future performance.
 

ABOUT EASTSPRING INVESTMENTS
 
Eastspring Investments is a leading asset manager in Asia that manages over US$140 billion assets (as at 30 June 2016) on behalf of institutional and retail clients. Operating in Asia since 1994 in 10 major markets plus offices in North America and Europe. Eastspring Investments is the Asian asset management business of Prudential plc, one of the world’s largest financial services companies.
 
ABOUT EASTSPRING INVESTMENTS BERHAD
 
Established in 2000 and based in Kuala Lumpur, Eastspring Investments Berhad is one of the leading asset management companies in Malaysia in both institutional and retail, with about RM33.5 billion in assets under management in the country as at 30 June 2016.  It manages unit trust funds, wholesale funds as well as private mandates.
 

Disclaimer: This press release is issued in Malaysia by Eastspring Investments Berhad for information purposes and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to anyone to invest in investment products. This press release may not be published, circulated, reproduced or distributed in whole or part, whether directly or indirectly, to any other person without the prior written consent of Eastspring Investments Berhad.
 
Investors are advised to read and understand the contents of the Eastspring Investments Master Prospectus dated 15 July 2016 and Eastspring Investments First Supplementary Master Prospectus dated 24 November 2016 (collectively, the “Prospectuses”), as well as the Eastspring Investments Small-cap Fund, Eastspring Investments Balanced Fund, Eastspring Investments Equity Income Fund, Eastspring Investments Dynamic Fund, Eastspring Investments Dana Dinamik, Eastspring Investments Asia Select Income Fund, Eastspring Investments MY Focus Fund and Eastspring Investments Dana al-Ilham (collectively referred to as "Funds") Product Highlights Sheet (“PHS”) before investing. The Prospectuses and PHS are available at offices of Eastspring Investments Berhad or its authorised distributors and investors have the right to request for a copy of the Prospectuses and PHS.
 
The Prospectuses have been registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia who takes no responsibility for its contents. Units will only be issued upon receipt of the application form accompanying the Prospectuses. Past performance of the Funds/Eastspring Investment Berhad (“Eastspring”) is not an indication of the Funds'/Eastspring’s future performance. Unit prices and distributions payable, if any, may go down as well as up. Where a unit split/distribution is declared, investors are advised that following the issue of additional units/distribution, the Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per unit will be reduced from pre-unit split NAV/cum-distribution NAV to post-unit split NAV/ex-distribution NAV. Where a unit split is declared, investors are advised that the value of their investment in Malaysian Ringgit will remain unchanged after the issue of the additional units.
 
Investments in the Funds are exposed to security risk. Investments in Eastspring Investments Dana al-Ilham are additionally exposed to reclassification of Shariah status risk. Investments in Eastspring Investments Dynamic Fund and Eastspring Investments Balanced Fund are additionally exposed to credit or default risk and interest rate risk. Investments in Eastspring Investments Dana Dinamik are additionally exposed to credit or default risk, interest rate risk and reclassification of Shariah status risk. Investments in Eastspring Investments Asia Select Income Fund are additionally exposed to credit or default risk, interest rate risk, countries or foreign securities risk and currency risk.  Investments in Eastspring Investments MY Focus Fund are additionally exposed to concentration risk, credit or default risk and interest rate risk. Investors are advised to consider these risks and other general risks as elaborated in the Prospectuses as well as fees and charges involved before investing.
 
Eastspring Investments companies (excluding JV companies) are ultimately wholly-owned/indirect subsidiaries of Prudential plc of the United Kingdom. Eastspring Investments companies (including JV companies) and Prudential plc are not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc., a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America.