CIMB-Principal declares RM51 mln gross distribution for funds
KUCHING: CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd (CIMB-Principal) kicks off 2017 on a positive note, declaring gross distribution totalling RM51 million for 17 of its funds.
Italsoannouncedacommendable increase in its total asset under management ( AUM) in 2016 despite the challenging economic environment. CIMB-Principal’s Group AUM increased by 7.6 per cent year on year (y-o-y) to RM67.6 billion, while the Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) segment increased significantly by 27 per cent y-o-y to RM343 million for the period ending Dec 31, 2016.
Munirah Khairuddin, chief executive officer of CIMBPrincipal said the group was pleased to reward investors with a RM51 million distribution for 17 of its funds.
“The increase in our AUM is a reflection of customer confidence in our calculated and diversified asset allocation strategy in the right markets, backed by our global experience, deep market insights and technical expertise,” she said in a statement yesterday.
“Our track record is a testament to our resilience to deliver through good and bad times. We remain confident of our continued growth in 2017 and we are focused on our long term plan to further strengthen our value proposition to our customers.
“We expect good performance for our funds this year. While we foresee continued volatility and uncertainty in the global financial markets, growth dynamics in the Asia Pacific region will continue to improve, and 2017 earnings is expected to be around 10 per cent, which is a significant turnaround from negative growth in the past few years,” Munirah added.
Meanwhile, two of CIMBPrincipal’s regional funds - CIMB Islamic Asia Pacific Equity Fund and CIMB-Principal Asian Equity Fund - just won “Best Equity Asia Pacific ex-Japan, 5 years performance” award from The Edge Thomson Reuters Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2017.
At the global front, CIMBPrincipal Global Titans Fund won – for the third year in a row - the Edge Thomson Reuters Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2017 for “Best Equity Global performance award” for the 3 years and 5 years categories. CIMB-Principal Global Titans Fund is an equity fund that invests in big-cap companies in the US, Europe and Japan, with a medium to long term growth outlook.
Since its inception in 2005, the fund has delivered a cumulative annual total return of 65.95 per cent for financial year ending 31 March 2016.
In January 2017, CIMB-Principal also launched the CIMB-Principal Preferred Securities Fund, which invests in a portfolio of diversified preferred securities for potential income returns and long term capital preservation, as well as two other funds – the CIMB-Principal Emerging Market Multi Asset Fund and CIMB-Principal Asia Pacific Dynamic Mixed Asset Fund - for investors who want to invest in Asia Pacific ex-Japan or global emerging markets.
Its value proposition to investors includes offering these new funds in multicurrency share classes that allow customers to invest in their choice currencies.
To date, CIMB-Principal has a total of 63 unit trust funds (of which 19 are syariah compliant), 19 wholesale funds, 10 Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) funds and two exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The company was named the Best Fund House in Malaysia by AsianInvestor for its Asset Management Awards 2016, Best Asset & Fund Manager, Malaysia (2007-2016) by Alpha Southeast Asia for its 10th Annual Best Financial Institution Awards 2016 and Asset Management Company of the Year, Malaysia by The Asset Triple A for its Asset Servicing, Fund Management and Investors Awards 2016.