Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) invested RM 1 million in newly launched fund namely ‘ASM Syariah Capital Protected Sector Linked Fund’.

The fund which managed by unit trust fund manager ASM Investment Services Bhd (ASM Investment) was officially launched by Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal at the Marriott Putrajaya on Dec 14, 2011.

UniKL was represented by its President and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Dato’ Dr. Abdul Hakim Juri.

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal during the press conference said, this will be a good time for ASM Investment to launch a new product that could accommodate the current market topsy-turvy atmosphere. Adding further, he stressed that the fund as being fully-compliant to syariah principles, thus making it open to everybody – Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

“We want the investors whether they are (Muslim) or (non-Muslim) to feel secure while seeking out to vary their investment portfolios. After the fund’s maturity period, their (investors’) capital will still be protected. Plus, they will get to enjoy higher potential upsides in the market compared with other conventional fixed deposits or other Islamic instruments,” he explained.

The minimum initial investment would be RM1,000, with minimum subsequent investment at RM100. AmanahRaya Trustees Bhd will be the appointed trustee of the fund. While for performance benchmark for this fund would be according to Bank Negara Malaysia’s 12-month Kuala Lumpur Islamic Reference Rates (KLIRR) index, which is currently stood at 3.42 percent.

The ‘ASM Syariah Capital Protected Sector Linked Fund’, which was approved by the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) on November 22 this year, will have a fund size of 500 million units, offered to investors at RM0.50 per unit.

The fund will be closed for application on January 12 next year. With a three-year maturity period, 88 to 92 per cent of the fund’s Net Asset Value (NAV) would be invested in Islamic Negotiable Instruments of Deposits (INIDs) – a type of fixed income securities purchased from banks with AA-rating. Only six to 12 per cent of the total NAV will be invested in Malaysian syariah-compliant equities while two percent of the NAV will be invested in liquid assets. This portion range of the NAV would be the give-back guaranteed capital for investors.

Furthermore, the fund would also be invested into seven identified sectors out of the total 12 under the Economic Transformation programme (ETP) including healthcare, construction, trade and services, as well as oil and gas.

Currently, ASM Investment – a unit under Amanah Saham Mara Bhd – manages corporate party funds and 13 unit trust funds including six syariah funds. With the addition of ASM Syariah Capital Protected Sector Linked Fund, it now has seven Islamic funds.

Reported by:

Alfonso Min

Corporate Communication Division