RM108b allocation for external fund managers
KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) outsourced RM108 billion to external portfolio managers as at December 31 last year, up 10.36 per cent from RM97.86 billion in the previous year.
Chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said this accounted for 14.77 per cent of EPF’s total investment assets.
The allocation was invested in both equity and fixed-income instruments, he said in a statement yesterday.
“As we gear up towards becoming a trillion-ringgit fund, we will continue to outsource a portion of our funds as part of our diversification initiative, and to suitably leverage on the knowledge and skillsets of external fund managers that complement our own internal fund management capabilities,” he added.
Speaking at the EPF External Portfolio Managers Annual Awards 2017 on Thursday, here, Samsudin said the fund would increase its exposure in the markets it invested in, especially in alternative investments and infrastructure. As part of its investment objective, EPF aims to declare no less than 2.5 per cent nominal dividend on a yearly basis, and at least two per cent real dividend on a three-year rolling basis.
“With about 45 per cent of investment assets being syariahcompliant prior to the launching of Simpanan Shariah last year, the EPF now expects to grow these assets by at least RM25 billion a year on average to meet the demand of its members,” he said.