KUALA LUMPUR: A total of RM98bil has been outsourced to external portfolio managers as at Dec 31, 2015, an increase of 14% compared to RM86bil a year before, said the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
This allocation, invested in both equities and fixed income instruments, represented about 14% of the EPF’s total investment assets, said EPF chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman.
He said EPF was committed to declare no less than 2.5% nominal dividend on a yearly basis and at least 2% real dividend on three-year roling basis.
“Investment through external fund managers allowed us to leverage on their knowledge and skills, especially in the global financial market place,” he said at the EPF Portfolio Managers Awards Ceremony 2015 in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
He said EPF would also continue to explore higher-yielding assets which fitted its risk return profile as a retirement saving funds, such as equities and real estate and as investment diversification using a multi-asset class approach.
On the Islamic investment award, Samsudin said, it reflected EPF’s efforts to promote and develop Malaysian Islamic Financial Centre agenda.
The EPF’s exposure to shariah-compliant investments covering multi-asset classes currently exceeded 4% of its total assets, he said.
As as end-2015, the fund’s total investment assets stood at RM684.53bil, up 7.54% from RM636.53bil in 2014.
The 2015 EPF External Portfolio Managers Awards saw 17 awards being presented to the top performing external portfolio managers. - Bernama