KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s first Exchange-Traded Funds¹ (“ETFs”), namely ABF Bond Index Fund (“ABF Malaysia”) and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI etf (“FBM KLCI etf”) have declared an income distribution of 4.65 sen and 2.80 sen per unit respectively for its financial year ended 31 December 2018. AmInvest manages both ETFs.
 
ABF Malaysia’s income distribution of 4.65 sen per unit in December 2018 represents an income distribution yield (the rate of the return of the ETF based on income distribution) of 4.06%, which was computed based on the ETF’s net asset value of RM1.1457 per unit as at 31 December 2018.²  ABF Malaysia is the only bond ETF in the market and its portfolio consists of mainly Malaysian government bonds.  It tracks the performance of Markit iBoxx®ABF Malaysia Bond Index.
 
FBM KLCI etf is designed to follow the performance of its benchmark index, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, which comprises Malaysia’s top 30 largest companies in terms of market capitalisation. During its financial year, FBM KLCI etf declared a total income distribution of 3.30 sen per unit (inclusive of the above final income distribution of 2.80 sen and an interim income distribution of 0.50 sen declared on June 2018), which represents an income distribution yield of around 1.91%.²  The yield was computed based on the ETF’s net asset value of RM1.7286 per unit as at 31 December 2018.²
 
“Investing in ETFs is an easy and cost-effective way for investors to gain exposure and diversify their current investment portfolios, which can help reduce overall portfolio risk during times of market volatility,” said Goh Wee Peng, Chief Executive Officer of AmInvest.
 
Commenting on developments within the Malaysian ETF industry, she said, “We laud the latest enhancements to the ETF framework by Bursa Malaysia Berhad such as the introduction of qualifying criteria for investors trading in leveraged and inverse ETFs, as well as, the expansion of the permitted short selling framework to allow the short-selling of new types of ETFs from the current equity-based ETFs. Improvements such as these will help drive growth and industry innovation, and thus create a more vibrant ETF ecosystem.”
 
AmInvest dominates the market as the largest ETF provider in the country with around RM1.42 billion worth of assets under management.³ For the past three years, it has been recognised as Malaysia’s Best ETF Provider by The Asset based in Hong Kong.⁴
 
For more information on ABF Bond Index Fund and FBM KLCI etf, please visit www.abfmy1.com.my and at www.fbmklcietf.com.my  respectively.

About AmInvest
AmInvest is the brand for the funds management business of AmFunds Management Berhad and AmIslamic Funds Management Sdn Bhd, both of which are wholly owned subsidiaries of AmInvestment Bank Berhad. AmInvest is a multiple award-winning funds management house based in Malaysia with 38 years of investing experience. It manages unit trust funds, wholesale funds, institutional mandates, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) funds, encompassing both conventional and Shariah-compliant funds.
 
Sources:
¹ Based on data compiled by Lipper, Refinitiv on the launch dates of the list of ETFs in Malaysia as at 31 December 2018.
²  Based on data compiled by Bloomberg on the net asset values for FBM KLCI etf and ABF Malaysia as at 31 December 2018.
³ Based on data compiled by Lipper, Refinitiv on the total fund size of ETFs in Malaysia and fund management companies as at 31 December 2018. 
⁴ The Asset Triple A Private Banking, Wealth Management, Investment and ETF Awards 2016, 2017 and 2018, based on information extracted from www.theasset.com as at 9 January 2019.

Disclaimer: 
AmFunds Management Berhad and its employees shall not be held liable to you for any damage, direct, indirect or consequential losses (including loss of profit), claims, actions, demands, liabilities suffered by you or proceedings and judgments brought or established against you, and costs, charges and expenses incurred by you or for any investment decision that you have made as a result of relying on the content or information in this material.You shall assume full responsibility for your use of any content or information in this material and waive all your rights (if any) against AmFunds Management Berhad. The information contained in this material is for general information only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situations or needs. You should seek your own financial advice from a licensed adviser before investing. You should be aware that investments in exchange traded funds carry risks. An outline of some of the risks is contained in the Prospectus for ABF Malaysia Bond Index Fund dated 13 July 2009, its Supplementary Prospectus dated 1 December 2014, its Second Supplementary Prospectus dated 1 April 2015 and its Third Supplementary Prospectus dated 10 September respectively and  Prospectus for FTSE Malaysia KLCI etf dated 7 June 2009, its Supplementary Prospectus dated 6 July 2009, its Second Supplementary Prospectus dated 1 December 2014, its Third Supplementary Prospectus dated 1 April 2015 and its Fourth Supplementary Prospectus dated 10 September 2015 respectively (“Prospectuses”). Investments in exchange traded funds involve risks including the risk of total capital loss and no income distribution. Please refer to the Prospectuses for detailed information on the specific risks of the funds. Unit prices and income distribution, if any, may rise or fall. Past performance of a fund is not indicative of future performance. Please consider the fees and charges involved before investing. Investors are advised that following the issue of additional units or distribution, the Net Asset Value (NAV) per unit will be reduced from cum-distribution NAV to ex-distribution NAV. Kindly take note that where a unit split is declared, the value of your investment in Malaysian ringgit will remain unchanged after the distribution of the additional units. Units will be issued upon receipt of the complete application form accompanying the Prospectuses and subject to the terms and conditions therein. You have the right to request for a copy of Prospectuses for the fund. You are advised to read and understand the contents of the Prospectuses before making an investment decision. The Prospectuses have been registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia, which takes no responsibility for its/their contents. You can obtain a copy the Prospectuses at www.abfmy1.com.my, www.fbmklcietf.com.my , www.aminvest.com  and Bursa Malaysia’s website at www.bursamalaysia.com.  AmFunds Management Berhad does not guarantee any returns on the investments. This material may be translated into languages other than English. In the event of any dispute or ambiguity arising out of such translated versions of this material, the English version shall prevail. AmFunds Management Berhad’s Privacy Notice can be accessed via www.aminvest.com and is made available at our head office.

iBoxx
 
iBoxx is a registered trademark of International Index Company Limited (IIC) and has been licensed for the use by AmFunds Management Berhad. IIC does not approve, endorse or recommend AFM or the ABF Malaysia Bond Index Fund. This product is not sponsored, endorsed or sold by IIC and IIC makes no representation regarding the suitability of investing in the product.
 
FTSE
 
AmFunds Management Berhad has been licensed by FTSE International Limited (“FTSE”) to use the name “FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI”.
 
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI is calculated by FTSE. All copyright in the index values and constituent list vests in FTSE and Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“BURSA MALAYSIA”). Neither FTSE nor BURSA MALAYSIA sponsor, endorse or promote this product and are not in any way connected to it and do not accept any liability in relation to its issue, operation and trading. AFM has obtained full licence from FTSE to use such copyright in the creation of this product.
 
“FTSE®” is a trade mark of the London Stock Exchange Plc and the Financial Times Limited and has been licensed for the use by AmFunds Management Berhad.

SOURCE : AmBank Group 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Name: Nancy Chow
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Marketing
AmInvest
Tel: 03-2036 1881
Email: nancy-chow@ambankgroup.com

--BERNAMA