Amanah Saham Bumiputera – Malaysian Unit Trust

Amanah Saham Bumiputera – Malaysian Unit Trust

Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) is a must have for all Bumiputras in Malaysia. I always recommend my Malay friends, and clients married to Malays, to max out their ASB account ASAP. The reason? Units Trusts which are low risk, capital guaranteed, and only cost RM1 per unit are hard to come by. Especially those who return 7% p.a.

The Basics

Amanah saham is simply the Malay word for unit trust. The term is widely associated with unit trust schemes managed by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB).

ASB was launched on May 1989 and may be the most popular unit trust scheme of PNB thanks to its open-ended structure and many benefits. Here more info on the ASB scheme and why it is so interesting:

1.Low-Risk
2.Capital guaranteed
3.Price per unit is RM1.00
4.Dividends are exempt of tax
5.No sales or redemption charge
6.Dividends are computed monthly, but are calculated annually
7.Open to Malaysian Bumiputras aged 18 and above. A Trust can be set up for those aged between 12 and 18
8.You can only invest up to RM200,000, but your balance can be higher thanks to compounding growth
All this sounds pretty solid by itself. But what really sets this fund apart is its Bumiputra specificity. Thanks to it, PNB will always strive meet Bumiputera’s interest by directing most of its profits to ASB. This explains why ASB has consistently out-performed other PNB Schemes (ASN, ASN 2, ASW 2020, ASM etc.) and why the following performance are so good.



FUND INFORMATION

Fund Name SKIM AMANAH SAHAM BUMIPUTERA (ASB)
Type Income
Category Equity
Launch Date January 2, 1990
Objective To generate long-term, consistent and competitive returns to the Unitholders whilst ensuring the preservation of capital at minimal risk tolerance level.

Potential Investors Those who understand investment risk and reward and expect to benefit from long-term growth of the Fund through re-investment of distribution (if any) as well as to receive regular income (if any) on their capital.

Eligibility Malaysian Bumiputera.
Akaun Dewasa (18 years and above)
Akaun Remaja (18 years and above as Guardian for minors age 12 years old and above but below 18 years)


Investment Manager Permodalan Nasional Berhad

TRANSACTION INFORMATION

Price per Unit RM 1.00
Form of Investment Investment book
Certificate


Minimum Initial Investment Investment book - 10 units

Minimum Additional Investment Investment book - 1 unit
Certificate - Multiples of 1,000 units


Maximum Investment Akaun Dewasa - 200,000 units
Akaun Remaja - 10,000 units


Approved Fund Size Unlimited.
Sales Charge None
Redemption Charge None
Payment of Redemption On-the-spot.
Cooling-off Period None
Financial Year End December 31


FUND PERFORMANCE

Year End 31 December 2007 2008 2009
Net distribution per unit (sen) 8.00 7.00 7.30
Bonus per unit (sen) 1.00 1.75 1.25