|ASM, ASW offer investors consistency|
|Monday, 20 April 2009 16:52|
Investors who desire principal protection can look to the additional units of Amanah Saham Malaysia(ASM) and Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020(ASW) to be offered by Perbadanan Nasional Bhd. An additional 3.33 billion of ASM units will be available for subscription tomorrow (April 21) while two billion units of Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 will be available from April 27.
Unlike conventional unit trust funds, these two funds have maintained a net asset value per unit of RM 1.00 since their debut. “This is because their minimum pricing is ‘guaranteed’ by the government and thus will not fluctuate according to the market movement as the other unit trusts available,” says Choo Swee Kee, chief investment officer of TA Investment Management Berhad. However, not all funds offered by PNB has this feature, he adds. Amanah Saham Malaysia has delivered a per unit income distribution of 6.75 sen, 6.8 sen and 7.8 sen while Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 gave a per unit income distribution of 6.8 sen, 8 sen and 7 sen for years 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively.
The offering provides an alternative asset class for investors who need steady return and want their principal guaranteed, says Lim Chuan Heng, executive director of Goldridge Consortium Sdn Bhd, a Capital Markets Services License holder for financial planning (corporate). “It is a good asset class to be added into your investment portfolio, if you are able to subscribe to it, as they are known to have high take up rate.”