Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) launched two new variable price unit trust funds by Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB).

As part of the PNB Group’s aim to expand its unit trust portfolio to meet the evolving needs of investors, ASN Equity 5 and ASN Sara (Mixed Asset Conservative) 2 are launched.

The new funds will expand ASNB’s product offering in the variable price segment from the current six to eight, covering the Growth, Mixed Balance and Mixed Conservative categories, with each category targeted at different types of investors depending on the stage in their life.

ASN Equity 5 is an equity growth fund that cater to the younger generation of investors that aim for aggressive growth in capital and net worth, seeking to generate a reasonable level of capital appreciation and income distribution through a more diversified investment portfolio.

ASN Equity 5 will invest 70 per cent to 90 per cent of its Net Asset Value (NAV) in equities, while the balance of its NAV will be invested in fixed income securities and money market instruments inclusive of liquid assets.

ASN Sara 2 is a mixed asset conservative fund that is tailored for more mature and risk-averse investors that are planning for a steady income stream with long-term growth potential.

The fund will invest 20 per cent to 80 per cent of its NAV in fixed income securities and moeny market instruments inclusive of liquid assets while the balance of its NAV will be invested in equities.

The PNB Group chairman, Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Aziz stated that the launch of ASNB’s new funds marks a milestone for PNB and ASNB since the previous launching of variable fund was 15 year ago.

The launch of the new funds highlights a key thrust of ASNB’s Strategic Plan which is to maintain its unit trust industry leadership by delivering the right products to its customers.

Expanding ASNB’s variable price products will increase the potential to meet the demand of unit holders given that the fixed price funds (excluding ASB) have been virtually fully subscribed.

PNB believes that this is an opportune time to launch new variable price products as the current funds have reached their optimal size and the new funds will enable ASNB to offer a wider suite of products under each fund category to meet investor needs.

Moreover, PNB views this as an opportunity to educate the market on the need to invest in variable price funds thus alleviating investors’ reliance on fixed price funds, not to mention, the current market conditions also provide a favourable entry price point to investors.

The initial price of both ASN Equity 5 and ASN Sara 2 is RM1.00 per unit during the 21-day initial offer period from 24 September to 8 October.

The minimum initial investment for both funds is RM10 and the minimum additional investment is RM1.

In line with the repositioning of ASNB’s variable price funds in May, the sales charge for ASN Equity 5 will be up to 5.0 per cent of NAV per unit, while the sales charge for ASN Sara 2 will be up to 3.5 per cent of NAV per unit.

PNB also announced the renaming of existing ASNB fixed price funds and declared the income distribution for Amanah Saham 1Malaysia.

Twitter