PMB Investment targets RM1.9b AUM by year-end

KUALA LUMPUR: PMB Investment Bhd, a subsidiary of Pelaburan Mara Bhd, is aiming for its asset under management (AUM) to hit RM1.9 billion in 2018.

As at Feb 28, 2018, its AUM stood at RM1.04 billion.

To achieve the RM1.9 billion target, which will mean an addition of RM850 million to its AUM by the end of the year, PMB will step up promotional activities, expand sales and distribution channels and look to attract more government agencies under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry to invest with it.

Four agencies under the ministry have invested with PMB.

Of the RM850 million, it is expecting RM350 million to come from retail investors, and the remainder from institutional investors.

Meanwhile, PMB is set to launch a syariah-based fund to penetrate the Asean equity market by the end of March. It is planning to start with a fund size of US$3050 million (RM117-195 million), and a focus on five countries namely, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, due to the liquidity of the equity markets in these countries.

“At this juncture, we are not in the foreign equity market as we are domestic centric. So, hopefully, with the domestic track record we have, we will be able to attract investors for this new fund,’ said PMB’s CEO, Najmi Mohamed.

He said PMB will continue to invest in the oil and gas as well as the construction sector.

On the overall stock market conditions, Najmi said the market is expected to be choppy in the first half of the year, before rising in the second half with the upcoming polls, China’s One Belt and One Road initiative and China-related stocks, as well as the small and mid-cap sector, among others.

“Of the last five general elections, there was only one instance of the market crashing, that too due to internal factors which were beyond our control,” he said.

Meanwhile, PMB declared an income distribution of 12 sen per unit, equivalent to 8.85% dividend yield, for its PMB Shariah Growth Fund (PMB SGF). A total distribution amounting to RM4.10 million will be paid to 4,237 corporates and retail investors. PMB SGF’s fund size amounted to RM51.95 million as at end-February.

In addition to the PMB SGF, the PMB Shariah Aggressive Fund, PMB Shariah Premier Fund, PMB Shariah Dividend Fund and PMB Shariah Small Cap Fund are best performing funds under its portfolio.

The total asset value of syariahcompliant unit trust stood at RM77.78 billion, while its conventional counterpart is valued at RM349.20 billion.