Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 19 April 2021 – UOB Asset Management (Malaysia) (UOBAM (Malaysia))’s United ASEAN Discovery Fund has topped Lipper’s ASEAN Equity 2020 League Table by outperforming industry peers’ average returns by 63 per cent. The league table ranks ASEAN equity funds in Malaysia based on their income and capital appreciation over three years from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020.
UOBAM (Malaysia)’s United Income Plus Fund and United Bond and Equity Strategic Trust were also ranked second and fourth on Lipper’s League Tables on Mixed Ringgit Conservative Assets (over a three-year period) and Mixed Ringgit Balanced Global Assets (over a five-year period) respectively. As at 31 December 2020, the United Income Plus Fund outperformed its industry peers’ average returns by eight per cent, while the United Bond and Equity Strategic Trust achieved a nine per cent outperformance.
In recognition of their strong performance, the three funds also received the following recognition at the 2021 Refinitiv Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards:
- Best Fund over Three Years, Equity ASEAN for the United ASEAN Discovery Fund;
- Best Fund over Three Years, Mixed Asset MYR Conservative for the United Income Plus Fund for the second consecutive year; and
- Best Fund over Five Years, Mixed Asset MYR Balanced - Global for the United Bond and Equity Strategic Trust.
Ms Lim Suet Ling, Chief Executive Officer of UOBAM (Malaysia), said, “At UOBAM (Malaysia), we adopt a bottom-up research approach and focus on companies’ fundamentals as part of our structured investment strategy to achieve outstanding fund performance and returns for our investors. We also tap the expertise of UOBAM Group’s regional teams with in-depth local knowledge of markets in Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, in addition to our own team in Malaysia.
“In 2020, especially given the impact of COVID-19, we have been focusing on companies in the healthcare-related sector, for example medical glove manufacturers that experienced exceptional profits during the pandemic. With the continued acceleration in digitalisation globally, we also realigned our strategy to increase our asset allocation to the technology sector. Our efforts paid off as the United ASEAN Discovery Fund, the United Income Plus Fund and the United Bond and Equity Strategic Trust benefitted from the solid performance of health-related and technology stocks in ASEAN and around the world.”
To overcome the challenges of the pandemic, businesses have been stepping up the pace of their digital transformation, leading to the strong demand for technology solutions. Companies in ASEAN that are part of the technology value chain are also benefitting from a supply chain shift to the region in view of the ongoing US-China trade tensions. The United ASEAN Discovery Fund capitalises on these trends with exposure to small to mid-sized technology-related companies in ASEAN.
The United Income Plus Fund is invested in many of the world’s leading technology companies such as Alphabet and Amazon, while the United Bond and Equity Strategic Trust has holdings in leading semiconductor and emerging technology names such as TSMC and Tencent.
UOBAM (Malaysia) also received industry recognition at the 2021 Best of the Best Awards by Asia Asset Management. In addition to the Best of the Best Performance – ASEAN Equity (3 Years) award for the United ASEAN Discovery Fund, the firm also won the Best of the Best award for Fintech Innovation in Asset Management, Malaysia for UOBAM Invest. Launched in 2020, UOBAM Invest is a robo-advisory service that provides customised investment portfolios online to help companies meet their investment goals.
For more information about the funds from UOBAM (Malaysia), please visit www.uobam.com.my.
