EPF OUTSOURCES RM 114.6b TO EXTERNAL PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) outsourced RM114.56 billion to external portfolio managers as at December 31 last year, up 9.8 per cent from RM104.37 billion in 2016.

This allocation, which was invested in equity and fixedincome instruments, represents 14.5 per cent of EPF’s total investment assets.

“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 the knowledge and skill sets of external fund managers that complement our own internal fund management capabilities,” said EPF chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman at the EPF External Portfolio Managers Annual Awards recently.

“We will continue to increase our exposure in the markets we invest in, especially in alternative investments and infrastructure. However, taking into account the prevailing market volatility and subdued growth, our expansion will be done gradually and in a prudent manner,” he added.

With about 45 per cent of investment assets being syariah-compliant, EPF expects to grow these assets by at least RM25 billion a year.

Samsudin said the competition for quality Islamic assets was not only confined to investors in the Muslim world but also to Western pension funds.

“EPF needs more quality Islamic assets to invest in,” he said.