Highlight EPF 1Q investment income jumps 58% y-o-y to RM8.83b

by **Cals** Tue 27 May 2014, 03:05

Highlight EPF 1Q investment income jumps 58% y-o-y to RM8.83b

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Ahmad Naqib Idris Adzman Shah of theedgemalaysia.com

Monday, 26 May 2014 16:48

KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced that it generated investment income of RM8.83 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014, jumping 58% from RM5.6 billion in the previous year’s same quarter.

The improved investment performance was attributed mainly to returns from equity investments.

Equities were the biggest contributor to EPF’s portfolio with RM4.84 billion in revenue, followed by loans and bonds which contributed RM2 billion and Malaysian Government Securities and equivalents with income of RM1.58 billion.

Income from real estate and infrastructure, and money-market instruments stood at RM312.19 million and RM79.62 million respectively.

“The first quarter performed better than last year but may not be indicative of the full-year performance for 2014.

“Our performance in Q1 2013 was affected by uncertainties ahead of the General Election 2013 and the early stages of global economic recovery had impacted our ability to achieve higher returns at that time,” said Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, CEO of EPF.

EPF’s total investment assets rose 11% to RM597.02 billion as at March 31, 2014, from RM526.55 billion in the year before.

Of the total investment assets, 21.22% were foreign assets.

The majority of its funds were invested in secure and low-risk fixed- income instruments (52%), followed by equity investments (43%) and money-market instruments, real estate and infrastructure (5%).

Moving ahead, Shahril said that the EPF was optimistic on the growth of the Malaysian economy, but remained cautious on the movements of capital as long-term interest rates adjust following recovery in key markets.

“In order to optimise returns, we hold firm to our prudent and long-term investment approach. We will always ensure that preservation of capital and value enhancement of members’ savings remain as the fund’s primary objective,” he said.

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