Public Mutual’s new Islamic funds target domestic market

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Mutual Bhd is launching two Islamic funds -- Public Islamic Treasures Growth Fund (PITGF) and Public Sukuk Fund (PSKF) – on Tuesday, July 19 which will focus on the domestic market.

It said on Monday, July 18 PITGF is an Islamic equity fund which seeks to achieve capital growth over the medium- to long-term period. It will invest mainly in small and medium sized companies, which comply with Shariah principles.

PSKF is an Islamic bond fund that seeks to provide annual income through investments in sukuk and Islamic money market instruments.

Public Mutual chief executive officer Yeoh Kim Hong said PITGF would enable investors to invest in potential growth companies by focusing its investments in small-to-mid cap Shariah-compliant stocks.

“Small-to-mid cap stocks generally offer higher growth opportunities compared to larger stocks due to their smaller earnings base,” she said.

Yeoh said the growth prospects for stocks within the universe of Shariah-compliant stocks is promising as there are about 796 Shariah-compliant small-and medium-capitalisation stocks listed on Bursa Malaysia.

PITGF will focus its investments mainly in the domestic market while to achieve increased diversification, it may invest up to 30% of its net asset value (NAV) in selected foreign markets. They include South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Luxembourg and other permitted markets.

PITGF’s equity exposure of PITGF will range from 75% to 98% of its NAV. PITGF is for aggressive investors who wish to participate in the long-term growth potential of small- and medium-sized Shariah-compliant companies.

As for PSKF, it invests in a diversified portfolio of sukuk which comprises mainly corporate sukuk, to produce returns that are generally higher than Islamic money market deposits.

PSKF will invest at least 75% of its NAV in a portfolio of sukuk such as sovereign sukuk and corporate sukuk (listed and unlisted) of various tenures with the balance invested in Islamic money market instruments.

The fund may invest up to 30% of its NAV in foreign sukuk. The foreign markets which the fund may invest in include Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, United Kingdom and other permitted markets.

PSKF is suitable for investors with conservative risk-reward temperament, seeking annual income with some safety of principal.

The initial issue price of PITGF and PSKF is 25 sen per unit and RM1.00 per unit respectively during the 21-day initial offer period from Tuesday to Aug 8.

The minimum initial investment for both funds is RM1,000 and the minimum additional investment is RM100. During the offer period, special promotional service charges as low as 5% of initial issue price per unit are extended to the purchase of units of PITGF.