i managed to get units for RM5k in april last yr.

i understand divident was paid out recently- can someone please explain if it means that the dividend would merely be thr to be collected or it would be re-invested as additional units?

if the latter- how would it work since there is no units left for non-bumis.

Exactly which fund are you referring to ? ASM ? ASW2020 or ASB ? Anyway, it would be reinvested as additional units.

ASM.

Thanks!

Btw, I was made to understand that dividend is paid out in Jan- but the teller informed me it is only in April. I reckon that dividend is annouced in January and payout in April? Why do ppl rush to update in Jan then? or is this a different fund altogether?

I think you have mixed it up with ASB. The dividend for ASM will be credited to your account in early April.


That one is for ASB. Yes. It is different.

February 24, 2010 16:33 PM

3.4 Billion 1Malaysia Units Subscribed Todate


KOTA KINABALU, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- The Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS 1 Malaysia), todate, has attracted 244,117 investors who have subscribed 3.40 billion units in the equity income fund. Permodalan Nasional Bhd President and Group Chief Executive Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said the fund, open to all races, was enjoying brisk sale especially among the Chinese community.

He said three billion units, of RM1 each, reserved for the Chinese saw a take-up rate of 89 per cent. "Maybe, the Chinese are more well-versed with share transactions and the returns they can reap from such investments.

"The Bumiputeras are more cautious and would rather wait until the maiden dividend is announced. They are more comfortable investing in other unit trusts offered by PNB including Amanah Saham Bumiputera and Amanah Saham Didik," he told reporters after launching the national-level AS 1Malaysia here today.

The RM10 billion fund, launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on July 31, 2009, is open to Malaysians aged 18 and above on a quota basis whereby 50 per cent of the shares are allocated for Bumiputeras, 30 per cent Chinese, 15 per cent Indians and the remaining 5 per cent to other groups. On the response to the unit trust in Sabah, Hamad Kama Piah said 12,345 investors have so far subscribed to 149 million AS 1 Malaysia units.

PNB has mounted a road show by mobilising a MyVi AS 1Malaysia squad which will disseminate information on the fund to residents in and around Kota Kinabalu, various districts and the interiors beginning today until March 11.

-- BERNAMA

I see no reason those bumiputeras will buy AS1M rather than ASB except if they already exceeded their quota. 3.4b is not even 50% of the whole AS1M targeted fund. I'm beginning to question its performance in the future against similar PNB's funds.

Is the return rate min 7%';

hi noob here

can any one explain to me what the benefit and cons of AS1M, ASM, ASW, ASB V2, PNB fund in comparison to unit trust ?

This post has been edited by lokideangelus: Feb 26 2010, 07:40 PM

hi noob,

In Unit Trust (or rather Unit You Don't Trust) win or loose the managers have their fun(d) ...ooop their fund/cut/fee. You can loose like hell. So in sun or rain, the fun managers can play golf and buy-sell thru their handphones in style... I mean "cool". Their manager's fee are still there. If market goes up, you get your steak (after their cut of cos). If market goes bearish, they still get their cut, only after that you get what's left over..skins and bones.. if any still left. i.e. you loose and loose.

I am not sure if the fixed-price fund here under PNB make any loses in the past? anyone clarify this?

---

Added on February 26, 2010, 10:16 pmhi besiegetank,

looking back at those funds e.g. Wawasan2020, when it was just launched. It also took quite a while for the people to buy up the fund. Even the non-bumi part takes quite a while, so I was told. Of cos during that time, W2020 was an "untested" new fund. The bumis have so many other funds with "known" results to sink their savings into without having to "gamble" with the untested W2020. Some years after the launching, after the returns were out and seen to be good or better than just good, the additional W2020 funds non-bumi portion just finished up in a matter of hours after opening for booking! Now if you want to buy W2020 you have to wait on-line to "fish" whatever scapes someone drops back into the pool.

Now we have in front of us a brand new "untested" AS1M sold 3.2 billion out of 10 billion units. Out of 3.2 billion units the Chinese have taken up 90% of their quota..i.e. 2.7 billion units more or less.The other half a billion must have come from somewhere, Indians and some bumis, the super rich ones who have already filled up their limits to brim in all other already-tested-funds.

Now having said all that let me tell you what I did, foolish or not, I emptied all my F.D.s into this AS1M this time without having to line up begging for my share. I have gone thru the past results of the other PNB's funds and don't see anyone go belly up. I believe, again it's just my 2 sen believe. The outcome cannot be worse off than my banker's 2.0 miserable % interest with my fixed term F.D.s. If the return's not up to your expectation even though it's better than your 2% F.D's interest, you can always pull out after the dividend paid and park your cows elsewhere.

Anyway, call it Wawasan2020, ASM or AS1M, I bet my dollar, Roses by any names still smells the same. I believe I can't be very far wrong on this one. Just let's wait and see.



This post has been edited by Libra: Feb 26 2010, 10:16 PM

No. No such thing as guaranteed minimum return.

A common misconception on the investment portfolio of Unit Trust vs. ASM (or similar). Unit trust and ASN both take management fees. You can read up on the comparison a while back. For unit trust you are investing all your money in risky ventures, while ASN usually invests only 60% of the money in equities, while 40% of the money is in NIDs. If you do a proper asset allocation you also are able to manage your own money effectively. People lose money in unit trust because they are too greedy. In fact some people make returns of 40%-50% during the 2008 financial crisis.

This post has been edited by gark: Feb 27 2010, 09:07 AM

yes, even the fixed price products like ASW2020/ASM/AS1m/ASD need to pay management fees. The only benefit of PNB fund is it doesnt require to pay tax, any income derived from these funs are tax exempted.

---

Added on February 27, 2010, 1:28 pmi agree with you, AS1M, first year return should be good, since the take up rate of the fund is just 34%, so paying good dividen in the 1st year will attract many investors.


This post has been edited by cheahcw2003: Feb 27 2010, 01:28 PM

Well, when a unit trust is introduced to the market, I'm sure a lot of planning will be undertaken to ensure its success. AS1M is designed for RM10B of funds but since the take up rate currently is less than 50%, I think it will somehow affect their initial planning on the funds return. I'm sure if they can manage a larger pool of fund, the returns will surely be higher from their profitable investments. Been wondering if they might pull in the profits from other funds like ASW2020 and ASM to increase the 1st year returns of AS1M in order to attract more people to grab it. Just my 2 cents.

Some reporters have raised this question to the PNB's chairman cum CEO, CEO explained that each fund has different portfolios, like funds for bumi do not have the exposure to haram stock like banking, each fund has different management team, different financial year end, and has been independently audited by external auditors. So it is not as easy as take your coins from left pocket to put it in your right pocket.

The only question is why ASB can be consistantly have higher return than other funds?????? if ASB portfolio is good and can bring the highest return for all funds, why not other funds "copy" the same portfolios like ASB????

If that is the case, then I wonder why they never disclose where and how the money goes?Seems like PNB funds lack certain transparency in comparison to other private funds.

Brother,

Never mind if they are transparent or not. Look at their past results, thru hell and firestorms they still managed to rake in enough to pay dividend to their unit holders. it's nothing less than miracle. Take a look at the 1997 financial meltdown in malaysia. many unit trust funds shrunk from say RM1.00 to RM0.15!! No joke, it's fact. I have a friend who got caught with RHB Dynamic fund which dropped from RM1.20 +/- down to something like RM0.32!!

Now take a look at the dividend rates for W2020 and ASM for that year. W2020 div 1997 was 8%!!! and ASM was 6.8%!!! Honestly, I cannot figure out how they could have done it but they DID! Taxed or not, I cannot imagine how to make money from equity or Gov't Bonds when Blue chips like Maybank dropped from well over RM10.00 per share to RM2.40 each. I would be happy if they kept my RM1.00 per unit in status quo during the crash. Saving me all those sleepless nights is already worth the investment.

---

Added on February 27, 2010, 11:29 pmI thought I read somewhere back. this AS1M up till today they still haven't got tax exemption from the govt' yet.

Another thing, I believe, true or not, I cannot confirm. I believe, being a gigantic fund and govt backed like EPF, they have huge advantage over other funds that they probably (just my guess) do not have to pay trading charges or stamp duty, commission and what not which you and me do not have the advantage. they probably do not go thru trading house with their dealing. They have their own trading licence. thus the commissions/fee thing do not arise. That alone is a huge saving for the fund.



This post has been edited by Libra: Feb 27 2010, 11:29 PM

All the funds under PNB umbrella are tax exempted, so i think AS1M will not be excluded, after all, it is launced by PM, and so it is Najib's baby.
If u read their financial report, they trade equity thru Brokers, mainly via Maybank/CIMB, but then PNB is the biggest shareholder of Maybank, it is like paying to Maybank for share commission, and get paid back in the forms of dividend from Maybank.

For those that want stable income and do not like to monitor risk, PNB is good.
For those who are more advantorous and can monitor your investment by yourselves, PNB funds' may not atractive

This post has been edited by cheahcw2003: Feb 28 2010, 12:26 AM

But then PNB's funds are still useful for diversification. It is good to park money inside for those retirees.

Hi Cheah,

I have searched thru the prospectus.
goto this site:-

http://www.asnb.com.my/Prospectus%20-%20AS1M.pdf

run down to page 19 of the prospectus... section 6.3 on TAXATION part.

... "tax of 25%"

... ASNB will be seeking income tax exemption for the fund from the ministry of finance..



Note:... WILL BE... unless somewhere after the pospectus was published, they have already got the exemption. I haven't come across any such news yet so far.

if u r so worry abt tax, stay tunned, dont invest until ASNB annouced for this matter....