KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Bernama) -- AmInvest has taken home the Best Bond Group – Malaysia Pension (“Best Bond Group”) award at the Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards 2020, Malaysia (“Refinitiv Lipper Awards”).¹ AmInvest’s AmDynamic^# Bond clinched two best fund awards for its three-year and five-year performance in the Bond MYR – Malaysia Pension category,¹ and AmMalaysia Equity emerged as the best fund over three years under the Equity Malaysia – Malaysia Pension for the second year running.²   
 
The annual Refinitiv Lipper Awards highlights funds and fund companies that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers for the year ended 31 December 2019.¹
 
Commenting on the wins, Dato' Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, Group Chief Executive Officer of AmBank Group, said, “Being recognised as the Best Bond Group is a strong affirmation of our fund managers’ capabilities in executing investment strategies with timing precision. AmDynamic^# Bond and AmMalaysia Equity’s outperformance is attributed to the flexibility of their investment strategy to dynamically switch between aggressive and defensive stances to capitalise on market conditions. These acknowledgements augur well for us particularly at a time heightened with uncertainty where investors are on the lookout for fund managers who can deliver consistent outperformance year after year.”
 
AmDynamic^# Bond seeks to potentially optimise risk-adjusted returns for investors based on, amongst others, interest rate expectations, currency movements and diversification opportunities through its exposure to both local as well as foreign bonds. The fund employs an active management investment strategy that seeks to increase returns by capitalising on market views and timing decisions, as opposed to a buy-and-hold strategy. Over the last three years, the fund registered a total return (a measure of the fund’s performance comprising income distribution and capital gains) of around 23.8%, exceeding its benchmark returns of about 20.7%, by 3.1%.³ The fund’s five-year total returns of 36.5% surpassed its benchmark’s returns of around 33.2%, by 3.3%.³
 
AmMalaysia Equity aims to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing in Malaysian equities. The fund invests in companies across a wide range of industries with above average growth potential. Its investment strategy allows the fund to quickly shift its focus between large, mid and small cap stocks enabling it to potentially outperform its benchmark in most market conditions. For a three-year period, the fund recorded an impressive three-year total return of about 34.9%, beating its benchmark’s returns of around -1.3%, by 36.2%.⁴  
 
Commenting on the market moving forward, Mr. Seohan Soo, Chief Executive Officer of AmInvestment Bank Berhad, added, “Notwithstanding the ongoing concerns regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and declining oil price, we are optimistic about the outlook of the bond market, which we believe will do well seeing that global interest rates are on a declining trend. The local market may be perturbed by Malaysia’s weaker gross domestic product forecasts which may lead to pressure on its credit rating, and subsequent potential selling pressure by foreign funds. However, we see these risks being mitigated by strong local investors’ support.”
 
Both award-winning funds are unit trust funds eligible under the Employees Provident Fund Member’s Investment Scheme (“EPF MIS”). EPF MIS allows EPF members to transfer a portion of their savings from their Account 1 for investments through appointed fund management institutions as an option to enhance their retirement savings.⁵
 
About AmInvest
AmInvest is the brand name for the funds management business of AmFunds Management Berhad and AmIslamic Funds Management Sdn Bhd, both of which are wholly-owned subsidiaries of AmInvestment Bank Berhad. We are a multiple award-winning fund manager based in Malaysia with 39 years of investing experience managing unit trust funds, wholesale funds, institutional mandates, Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) and Private Retirement Scheme (PRS); encompassing both conventional and Shariah-compliant funds.
 
 
Notes and Sources:
# The word “Dynamic” in the context refers to the fund’s investment strategy which is active management, not buy-and-hold strategy.
 
¹ Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards 2020, Malaysia, April 2020.
² Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards 2019 and 2020, Malaysia, April 2020.
³  Based on data compiled by Lipper, Refinitiv for the fund’s 3-year and 5-year total return as at 31 December 2019. The fund’s performance benchmark is BPAM Corporates All Bond Index. Performance is shown in Malaysian Ringgit on a Net Asset Value (NAV) price basis with income distribution reinvested. Performance figures are calculated net of all fees, charges and expenses, except entry charge and exit penalty (if any). Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
⁴ Based on data compiled by Lipper, Refinitiv for the fund’s 3-year total return as at 31 December 2019. The fund’s performance benchmark is FTSE Bursa Malaysia Emas Index. Performance is shown in Malaysian Ringgit on a Net Asset Value (NAV) price basis with income distribution reinvested. Performance figures are calculated net of all fees, charges and expenses, except entry charge and exit penalty (if any). Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

⁵ Employees Provident Fund (EPF) website accessible via https://www.kwsp.gov.my/member/investment, April 2020.
 

 
Disclaimer
This material has been prepared by AmFunds Management Berhad (“AmInvest”) [company registration number: 198601005272 (154432-A)] for information purposes only. It should not be construed as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any units in AmInvest’s unit trust fund(s). Investors shall be solely responsible for using and relying on any contents in this material. Investors are advised to read and understand the contents of the Master Prospectus dated 10 September 2017, including any supplementary made thereof from time to time (“Prospectuses”) and its Product Highlights Sheet(s) (“PHS”) before making an investment decision. The Prospectuses and PHS have been registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia, which takes no responsibility for its contents. Investors can obtain a copy of the Prospectuses and PHS at www.aminvest.com. The fund’s units will only be issued upon receipt of the complete application form accompanying the Prospectuses. Past performance of a fund is not an indication of its future performance. The fund’s unit prices and income distribution payable, if any, may rise or fall. 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. Please be advised that where a unit split is declared, the value of investor’s investment in Malaysian Ringgit will remain unchanged after the distribution of the additional units. Please refer to the Prospectus for detailed information on the specific risks of the fund(s). Investors are advised to consider these risks and other general risk elaborated, as well as the fees, charges and expenses involved before investing. This material may be translated into languages other than English. In the event of any dispute or ambiguity arising out of such translated versions of this material, the English version shall prevail. AmInvest’s Privacy Notice can be accessed via aminvest.com.

Source: AmBank Group

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Name: Nancy Chow
Senior Vice President
Corporate Communications & Marketing
AmInvest
Tel: 03-2036 1881
Email: nancy-chow@ambankgroup.com 

--BERNAMA