QUOTE(besiegetank @ Dec 25 2009, 11:44 AM)
It didn't help a little, it actually helped me a lot! Thanks ya for your lengthy explanation. Unfortunately, more questions follow
1. If distribution is also a form of ROI, why some investors prefer not to have it?Does that means ROI in term of capital growth will be better?
2. Let say I need a retirement UT investment for 30 years with DCA, which type of funds should be considered?bond?money market?
3. I'm still at a loss on calculating the profits for UT investments. If let say I invest RM1k and the end of 3 years the NAV is RM2k, how should I calculate my gains after considering those initial and management fees?including tax?
The more I read, the more things I didn't know.

Dear besiegetank,
I'm glad the explanation above helped. It's a good habit to always ask and have some information regarding any investment instruments that you would like to invest in. However, do take care not to suffer from a syndrome known as information overload

And now to answer your questions:
1) Distribution increases the number of units in the fund and is reinvested at zero charge. Fund managers encourage it to capitalize on the compounding effects over time. for
eg: Mr A has two funds, 1000 unit of Fund A and 1000 units of Fund B. Fund A's distribution is reinvested every year while Fund B is payout.
if distribution is RM1/unit for both funds
Fund A- 1000 units + 100 units from distribution=1100 units
Fund B- 1000 units + distribution payout =1000 units
2nd financial year, assuming distribution is the same and price per unit is RM0.50, we get
Fund A- 1100 units + 100 units from distribution=1200 units (RM600)
Fund B- 1000 units + payout =1000 units (RM500)
The difference in that amount may be small but over long terms like 30 years the difference is very significant due to compounding effect. However, this doesn't mean any form of ROI is better than the other. It really boils down to the investor if they feel more comfortable with distributions or capital growth as long as they meet their investment objectives.
2) A consultant has responsibility to do a retirement planning for you to help you reach the amount desired after 30 years. A half-yearly or yearly review of yr retirement blueprint is highly recommended. Normally the UT portfolio will comprise of a mix of fund types to help u achieve a certain % on yr ROI to help u reach yr financial goal.
3) The fund manager will send a statement after the distribution showing you the net payable after deducting all the relevant expenses like income tax and management fees. Alternatively, u can contact yr agent to know the ROI of yr fund.
Regards,
NightCrusader