TABUNG UNIT AMANAH SEBAGAI PELABURAN MASA DEPAN ANDA

Salam Sejahtera 

Apakah faedah melabur dengan unit amanah. Bagi pelabur yang bercadang untuk memulakan langkah menyimpan atau melabur dengan unit amanah amat digalakkan membaca artikel ini. 

Pengenalan

Untuk mencapai matlamat kebebasan kewangan, rakyat Malaysia adalah digalakkan untuk menjadikan unit amanah dan Skim Persaraan Swasta sebagai instrumen pelaburan pilihan mereka. Siri rencana ini akan menjelaskan tentang faedah melabur dan mengapa tabung unit amanah menjadi salah satu keperluan dalam menampung tabung pendidikan untuk anak-anak anda, pelaburan untuk simpanan dan persaraan.

Apakah Maksud Kebebasan Kewangan?

Kebebasan kewangan mempunyai pelbagai pandangan yang berbeza bagi setiap individu, seperti kemampuan dari segi kewangan untuk melakukan apa sahaja yang diinginkan. Untuk mencapai matlamat kebebasan kewangan ini, anda mestilah:

• Menabung untuk pendidikan anak anda
• Mempunyai simpanan yang mencukupi untuk persaraan anda
• Mengumpul kekayaan seperti memiliki rumah yang besar atau kereta mewah

Oleh itu, untuk mencapai impian dan matlamat kewangan ini, kita haruslah mempunyai kewangan yang mencukupi untuk menabung dan melabur secara bijak.

Menyimpan dan Melabur

Antara soalan-soalan lazim yang biasa ditanya oleh pelabur baru:

• Apakah risiko yang perlu diambil untuk mendapat pulangan yang melebihi purata dari pelaburan asal - unit amanah, berbanding dengan pulangan daripada wang simpanan dalam akaun deposit tetap [Fixed Deposit Account (FDA)]?
• Bagaimana jika ianya tidak seperti yang dirancang?
• Bagaimana jika ianya menjejaskan rancangan kewangan saya?

Yang paling penting dalam pelaburan adalah “risiko tinggi, pulangan tinggi”. Untuk memperolehi pulangan yang lebih tinggi, anda haruslah sedia menghadapi beberapa risiko yang lebih tinggi. Simpanan di akaun deposit tetap nyata lebih selamat berbanding jenis pelaburan yang lain termasuk unit amanah. Akan tetapi, pulangan dari deposit tetap ialah “tetap”, misalnya, akaun deposit tetap memberikan pulangan sekitar 3 peratus setahun. Ini bermakna anda perlu memperuntukkan wang simpanan yang lebih banyak setiap bulan, di mana ianya akan mengambil masa yang lebih lama untuk mencapai matlamat kewangan anda. Walaubagaimanapun, jika anda melabur di dalam tabung unit amanah, anda mungkin boleh mendapat pulangan yang melebihi purata, sejajar dengan risiko yang lebih tinggi (bergantung kepada jenis tabung yang dilaburkan) – dan dapat mencapai matlamat anda dengan lebih cepat.

Kuasa Penggandaan

Sebagai contoh, jika anda memperuntukkan RM100,000.00 dalam simpanan tetap dengan pulangan sebanyak 3% setahun, ia akan mengambil masa selama 24 tahun untuk menggandakan wang anda kepada RM200,000.00. Sebaliknya, jika anda mampu mendapat pulangan sebanyak 5% setahun dari pelaburan unit amanah, ia hanya akan mengambil masa selama 15 tahun untuk menggandakan wang anda. Ini ialah kuasa penggandaan; satu pulangan tambahan sebanyak 2% setahun melebihi pulangan simpanan tetap di mana ianya dapat menjimatkan masa yang diperlukan untuk mencapai matlamat kewangan anda.

Faktor Masa Dalam Menggandakan Wang Anda

Tabung unit amanah adalah sesuai untuk para pelabur yang ingin mendapatkan pulangan yang melebihi purata – dan mengambil masa yang lebih singkat untuk mencapai matlamat mereka. Tabung unit amanah diuruskan secara profesional, oleh itu, pelabur haruslah melabur dalam pelbagai pelaburan seperti bon, saham, komoditi dan lain-lain (sekaligus memberikan kepelbagaian dalam pelaburan). Sebagai tambahan, tabung unit amanah secara amnya juga mempunyai kecairan yang tinggi, kos pelaburan yang lebih rendah dan pendedahan pelaburan yang lebih tinggi.

Apa Itu Unit Amanah?

Unit amanah ialah satu instrumen pelaburan, yang mengumpulkan dana daripada para pelabur untuk dilaburkan dan diuruskan untuk faedah bersama. Operasi dana ini dikawal oleh satu surat ikatan yang dikenali sebagai “surat ikatan” amanah.

Sebagai seorang pelabur, anda mungkin tidak mempunyai modal yang mencukupi atau berpeluang untuk melabur terus dalam pasaran saham, melainkan anda adalah seorang pelabur yang bertauliah (atau individu yang mempunyai kecelikan kewangan yang tinggi). Sekalipun anda mempunyai modal yang mencukupi, kebanyakan pelabur mungkin tidak dapat mempelbagaikan portfolio yang sesuai untuk pelaburan mereka secara individu. Sekuriti dana unit amanah yang dilaburkan adalah termasuk saham, bon dan lain-lain sekuriti kewangan. Pengurus dana yang profesional dan berpengalaman dilantik untuk menguruskan portfolio pelaburan tersebut.

Faedah Melabur Dalam Unit Amanah

1) Akses Ke Pelbagai Bentuk Aset Kewangan

Saham amanah mempunyai akses ke pelbagai jenis aset pelaburan seperti Sekuriti Kerajaan Malaysia (bon kerajaan), komoditi, hartanah dan lain-lain, dan yang lebih penting, pelabur mempunyai pengurus dana profesional yang boleh membantu menguruskan dana ini bagi pihak mereka. Pelaburan dalam unit amanah adalah salah satu cara untuk mendapatkan pulangan yang lebih tinggi bagi tempoh yang lebih panjang, berbanding dengan menyimpan dalam akaun simpanan atau akaun deposit tetap. Selain itu, risikonya juga mungkin lebih rendah berbanding dengan melabur secara langsung ke dalam saham atau bon, iaitu melalui kepelbagaian portfolio yang sesuai.

2) Kepelbagaian

Pelabur boleh mempelbagaikan pelaburan mereka dengan mengagihkan wang mereka ke dalam pelbagai jenis pelaburan, termasuk saham, dana bersama, bon dan wang tunai untuk mengurangkan risiko keseluruhan portfolio. Pelabur boleh mempelbagaikan strategi pelaburan mereka ke dalam dana yang berbeza, termasuk dana pertumbuhan, dana seimbang, dana indeks, modal yang kecil, modal yang besar dan dana sektor khusus, atau, ianya boleh dipelbagaikan dari segi geografi dengan memiliki pelaburan campuran iaitu antarabangsa dan tempatan. Strategi dalam mempelbagaikan pelaburan dapat mengurangkan risiko akan tetapi tidak semestinya akan mengurangkan pulangan.

3) Pelaburan Yang Lebih Mudah

Ia menarik minat pelabur yang tiada masa untuk memantau prestasi pelaburan mereka dengan kerap; yang pada lazimnya, di setiap akhir suku tahun, pelabur unit amanah akan menerima satu laporan mengenai prestasi dana mereka dan juga tinjauan untuk tahun hadapan, yang menjadikan pelaburan lebih mudah.

4) Mudah Tunai / Kecairan

Unit-unit dalam dana boleh dibeli dan dijual dengan lebih mudah melalui syarikat pengurusan unit amanah, ejen unit amanah institusi dan orang-perseorangan yang menguruskan unit amanah. Di bawah garis panduan Tabung Unit Amanah, Syarikat Pengurusan Unit Amanah perlu membayar hasil pembelian-balik unit dalam tempoh sepuluh (10) hari bekerja selepas menerima permintaan belian-balik.

5) Kemampuan – Pelaburan di dalam saham amanah hanya memerlukan modal
yang minimum

Pelaburan secara terus ke dalam pasaran saham memerlukan modal yang tinggi untuk individu dan pelabur runcit kerana mereka tidak mempunyai kuasa skala ekonomi. Melalui perkongsian dana, pengurus dana mempunyai lebih kuasa untuk membeli dan mampu menikmati kos dagangan yang lebih rendah disebabkan oleh faedah urusniaga dagangan yang tinggi, yang mana ini dapat menguntungkan dana tersebut.

6) Pengurusan Profesional Yang Berterusan

Pengurus dana yang profesional dan berpengalaman dapat memastikan bahawa dana yang diuruskan dilabur melalui proses yang tersusun dan mengikuti prinsip asas pelaburan. Dalam jangka panjang, kelebihan ini membantu menjana pulangan yang lebih tinggi untuk para pelabur. Secara ringkasnya, unit amanah harus dipertimbangkan sebagai salah satu pelaburan pilihan oleh rakyat Malaysia yang ingin mengukuhkan kewangan mereka.

Secara ringkasnya, unit amanah harus dipertimbangkan sebagai salah satu pelaburan pilihan oleh rakyat Malaysia yang ingin mengukuhkan kewangan mereka.

P/S: Tabung Unit Amanah Sebagai pelaburan masa depan anda? Jom kembangkan simpanan untuk melawan kadar Inflasi! Berminat? 

Amanah Saham Bumiputera, Taking Loans to Pay Dividend?

 

I've heard many questions on how does Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB) provide positive dividend returns plus bonuses to their investors consistently on a year to year basis. Even during the 2008 economy downturn where the KLSE crashed to a low of 876.75 points, ASNB were able to declare positive dividend  returns for all their funds!

The oldest fund from ASNB, which is Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) has been declaring the highest dividend returns on a year to year basis among all ASNB funds. Furthermore, ASB is the only fund from ASNB that provides additional bonuses to their investors. That has raised quite a number of speculation with regards to the capability and sustainability of ASB. Is it even possible for any fund to provide returns even in the harshest of economy situation?

These speculations sparked my interested in trying to determine whether ASNB (specifically ASB) is really able to provide sustainable returns. Before I go into details, I wish to declare that all information are obtained from the internet, annual reports, websites, etc and opinions made are based on my understanding and perception.

Background About Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB)

Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) holds the title of being the first fund launched by ASNB on January 2, 1990. ASB was first introduced to help Malaysian Bumiputera to build up an alternate savings nest for retirement instead of depending entirely on EPF.

Bumiputera investors can purchase ASB units for a RM1.00 per unit and can continue to do so until a maximum of 200,000 units for adults and 50,000 units for teenagers. The price per unit of ASB is fixed at RM1.00 per unit regardless of the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the fund. In addition, there are no sales charge fee and redemption of units is also free.

ASB Dividend and Bonus for the past 6 Years

ASB's investment nature is mainly into Equities. By investing into equities, ASB is able to provide higher returns upon investment. Investors over the years have benefited greatly from ASB dividend returns as shown below:

	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
Dividend	7.75	7.65	7.50	7.30	7.00	8.00
Bonus	1.15	1.15	1.25	1.25	1.75	1.00
Total	8.90 sen/unit	8.80 sen/unit	8.75 sen/unit	8.55 sen/unit	8.75 sen/unit	9.00 sen/unit

On the average, ASB has given average returns of 8.79 sen/unit over the span of 6 years!

In money terms, say I have invested RM100,000 into ASB on the 1st of January 2007, my value of investment at the end of 2012 is RM160,579.50. Basically I will be earning an additional RM60,579.50 in a matter of 6 years time.

So what is the speculation all about?

Many have questioned on how ASB, who is invested into the Equity market is able to provide positive dividend and bonus during the World Financial Crisis in 2008?

During that crisis, our Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) fell from 1393.25 points on January 2, 2008 to 876.75 points on 31 Dec 2008.

Yet ASB who's invested into the KLCI declares a dividend distribution of 7.00 cents/unit plus a bonus of 1.75cents/unit. How is it possible when other equity based unit trust funds were recording massive losses on their NAVs?

  

Justification No. 1 : ASB's Unit Price is fixed

To explain this point, I first have to explain how the price per unit for your common equity based unit trust fund is calculated.

Unit price of an equity based unit trust is derived from the total asset value minus liability, divided by the number of units in circulation. The assets value in this case is likely from the value/price of stocks held by that fund. Therefore during a bull market, stock prices goes up, the unit price goes up as well. During a bear market such as in 2008, the opposite occurs. As investors of common unit trust fund, we enjoy both the dividends from the fund as well as the long terms appreciation of the unit price.  

In the case of ASB, the unit price is fixed at RM1.00 per unit. The unit price never fluctuates and will remain the same even when you redeem your units for cash. Irregardless of a bull or a bearish market, investors all year round can buy and sell ASB units at a price of RM1.00 per unit.

I believe by fixing the unit price, ASB investors would not be worried about when to buy or sell units. This reduces panic sales of units during a bearish market and investors are reassured of returns regardless of market condition.

On the other hand during a bearish market, investors of common unit trust fund begin to panic and start redeeming their units. As more and more investors redeem their units, fund managers are force to start selling existing stocks in order to generate cash to pay of redeemers. Adversely, the fund size shirnks and the number of units in circulation will reduce drastically.

When a common unit trust price becomes lower and investor's confidence begin to return due to market recovery, we start seeing money being thrown back into unit trust funds. This is where opportunities are created for some investors to buy low and sell high via unit trust. Alternatively, investors who invest long term into unit trust are able to purchase more units for the same amount invested. 

Justification No. 2 : Without panic sales, ASB benefit from Dividends of Stocks

As pointed out in Justification No. 1,  since ASB is not effected by panic sales, the fund size remain consistent. ASB fund managers can then hold on to quality stocks (with great dividend payout) since they do not need to sell stocks to generate cash.

While the KLCI suffered a major beating in 2008, good solid companies continue to generate revenue even though their stock price drop during a bearish market. With company revenues not really effected by the financial crisis, dividend can still be declared to stock holders such as ASB. The dividend from companies is then translated into profit by ASB and returned to investors.

To further elaborate this point, let's take a look at the top 10 stocks held by ASB at the end of 2008:

22.07% of ASB's portfolio is invested into Sime Darby Berhad. Guess how much dividend was declared by Sime Darby to stock holders for Financial Year end 2008? Take a look below:

Taken from Sime Darby Press Release Archive

Total Gross Dividend from Sime Darby is 49cents/share! 

I don't have the actual number of shares held by ASB in Sime Darby in 2008, but I can roughly guess by the following calculation:

ASB's Asset Value (Aset Bersih) as of 31 Dec 2008 : RM 62.723 billion

Asset Allocated to Equity (72.53% of Asset Value) : RM 49.493 billion

22.07% of Equity Allocation invested in Sime Darby : RM10.04 billion

Sime Darby share price on 2 Jan 2008 : RM 11.60 per share

Assuming ASB bought all Sime Darby shares on 2 Jan 2008 at RM11.60 per share, ASB would have approximately 866 million shares in Sime Darby. Dividend earned would be 866 million shares multiplied by 49 cents/share. That's approximately RM424.1 million in dividend earned from Sime Darby alone!*

*this is an approximation calculation, not an actual figure from ASB

Looking into ASB's 2008 annual report, ASB received dividend income totaling up to RM 3,156.95 million as shown in table below (circled red):

To me it makes much sense that even during 2008 Financial Crisis, ASB is able to deliver returns to their investors thanks to profitable dividends from the companies they invest in. 

Summary

By doing this case study, I've managed to answer some of the doubts I have in mind about ASB. Accusation  has it that during the 2008 crisis, ASB had to take loans in order to pay off the investor's dividend. From what I see, that accusation is all but another rumor.

I'm not a Bumiputera and neither do I take sides with the ruling government. What I've presented here are my findings as an investor and I'm glad that fellow Bumiputera friends are earning better then decent returns from ASB.

Cheers and Happy Investing!

Clement Jouling ialah Perunding Unit Amanah berlesen (Licensed Unit Trust Consultant) dan seorang 'Dealer' berdaftar emas dan perak bagi syarikat "Gold Silver Resources". Sekiranya anda berminat untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut tentang pelaburan unit amanah serta jual beli emas dan perak boleh hubungi beliau nombor dan alamat email yang tertera.

Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) vs Unit Trust Fund

Comparison	ASB	Malaysia Equity based Unit Trust Fund
Unit Price	The unit price for ASB is fixed at RM1 per unit. ASB is what you call a fixed price fund. That means if you invest RM1000 into ASB, you'll get a 1000 units in return. After twenty year, if you intend to redeem your units, the 1000 units is sold at the price of RM1/unit as well. With the unit price fixed, investors need not worry about when is the best time to redeem their units.	The unit price of Unit Trust varies according to the daily Net Asset Value of the fund. Normally if the stock market is bullish, the unit price of a unit trust goes up and vice versa. Say for example you invest RM1000 into a fund that is currently price at RM1/unit. You'll get 1000 units in return. After 20 years, say the price per unit has gone up to RM1.50/unit, selling your 1000 units will return you RM1500. Investors are exposed to the possibliity that the unit price at the point of redemption could be lower then the price when they purchase the unit. This however can be mitigated using the Dollar Cost Averaging method.
Dividend + Bonus	Annually, ASB will announce it's dividend and bonus returns. For 2012, ASB distributed 8.9% worth of dividend  and bonus. Investors can choose to reinvest by purchasing more ASB units or withdraw the distribution.	Most unit trust funds declare yearly dividend. The dividend varies from one fund to the other. Dividend can range from 1% - 10% depending on the performance of the fund. However during a bear market, most equity based fund will not announce any form of dividend. Dividend is normally reinvested via purchasing  of more units from that fund.
Average Annual Returns	ASB's average return is  8.82% per annum for the past 3 years.	Top performing Malaysia Equity (Islamic) Unit Trust fund such as Kenanga Syariah Growth Fund (KSGF) averaged about  19%  per annum for the past 3 years. Investors should be advised that the longer the period of investment, the lower the average annual returns would be.  KSGF for example averaged about 12.63% per annum over a period of 5 years.
Fund Flexibility	As of 31 Dec 2013, ASB manages about RM110 billion worth of funds. For example, 22.92% of ASB funds are invested into financial insitution comprising of Maybank, CIMB, Public Bank and RHB. If ASB decides to sell all their shares, the resulting price drop of these 4 banks is unimaginable. Like it or not, ASB is tied down with the responsibility to stay invested in these companies in order to prevent the above scenario above happening.	Unit Trust Fund size ranges between RM 10 million to RM500 million. By having a smaller fund size, fund managers can afford to trade (buy and sell) shares without worrying about the impact on a particular company. The flexibility to invest allows unit trust funds to prevent any catastrophic losses during a bearish market. This is also why unit trust fund tend to perform better during a bull market.
Stability	Investing in ASB provides the feeling of stability for many investors. Even during a bear market, ASB is able to announce dividend to investors as seen during the 2008 economy crisis. By fixing their unit price at RM1/unit, investors are reassured that no matter what happens to the market, they are still able to redeem their units at RM1/unit. To read more about how ASB is able to declare dividend even during a bear market, click HERE.	As mentioned earlier, the unit price of an equity based unit trust fund varies according to the share market. During the 2008 economy crisis, KSGF loss about 26.02%. However the fund was able to rebound back with a 30.42% gain in 2009. The orice volatility of a unit trust fund is one of the reason why many investors are afraid to invest into unit trust.
Investment Limit	Each investors is limited to a max investment amount of RM200,000 only.	Investors can invest as much as they want. The fund will stop selling units once the fund size limit is achieved.
Annual Fund Management Fee	The Fund Management fee for ASB is 0.35% for 2012.	The Fund Management fee for Equity Based Unit Trust Fund ranges from 1.2% - 2.0%
Sales Charge Fee	None	Between 1% - 5.5% depending on type of fund
Syariah Compliant	There's still an ongoing debate whether ASB is a syariah compliant fund or not.	Whether a unit trust fund is syariah compliant or not is clearly stated in the prospectus.
Invest via EPF	ASB does not allow investment via EPF withdrawal.	Certain approved unit trust fund such as KSGF allows EPF withdrawal for investment.
Who Can Inevst?	Open to Bumiputera only	Open to Malaysians
Who Should Invest?	Investors who  prefer stability and consistent returns ranging from 7-9% per annum.	Investors who are willing to take risk in order to enjoy higher returns ranging from 10% - 20% (after deducting annual fund management fee) depending on the period of investment.
Potential Profit	Sample Calculation : ASB returns  per year - 8.5% Initial Amount Invested - RM10,000 Yearly Contribution - RM2,400 Profit after 20 years = RM177,094.20	Sample Calculation : Unit Trust returns  per year - 12% Amount Invested - RM10,000 Yearly Contribution - RM2,400 Profit after 20 years = RM290,139.90

Cheers and Happy Investing.

Clement Jouling ialah Perunding Unit Amanah berlesen (Licensed Unit Trust Consultant) dan seorang 'Dealer' berdaftar emas dan perak bagi syarikat "Gold Silver Resources". Sekiranya anda berminat untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut tentang pelaburan unit amanah serta jual beli emas dan perak boleh hubungi beliau nombor dan alamat email yang tertera.

Retire Gracefully

 

"If we do a little financial planning we can avoid spending all retirement fund too fast."

Based on the Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) statistics, while the average life expectancy of the Malaysian population is 75 years, 50% of its retired members spend their entire EPF savings within 5 years after withdrawal. If we do a little financial planning we can avoid to be a part of the above statistics.

Here are two broad categories of what we can do:

1. To protect our EPF savings and spend the savings wisely to generate income during retirement,
2. To nurture multiple “financial nest eggs” and not just rely on EPF savings as our sole source of retirement fund.

 Protecting EPF Savings

1. Buy Property

When we withdraw EPF savings between the age of 50 to 65 years, one of the most sensible ways to protect its value is to buy a piece of rental property. This property can be a condominium at a prime location (with proven demand for rental property), a low-cost apartment bought through an auction, a single-storey shop at a busy but cheaper part of town, a piece of plantation land shared with family members, etc.

Such property should generate passive income for our retirement, both its income and asset values are protected against inflation and, unlike unit trust funds, depletion.

2. Leverage with property loan

If you pay the entire purchased property with your EPF savings and yet you wish to use part of your EPF savings for such purposes like starting a small business, buy gifts for family members, medical expenses, etc., you can obtain the cash upfront by arranging a property loan and let the rental income pay off the loan by instalments.

At the age of 50, when you withdraw your entire savings in Account 2 to buy a property, you are still eligible for a 15-year housing loan or two-generation loan. As long as the rental income is sufficient to pay for the monthly loan installment, you can use part of the EPF savings upfront. The loan will eventually be paid off by the rental income that you receive. You will still hold the ownership of the property. At the end of the loan tenure, you continue to receive rental income.

It is also possible to buy a property with a price beyond your EPF savings. At the age of 50, withdraw your entire Account 2 to pay as down payment of a property and get a 15-year housing loan or two-generation loan. Pay the property loan installment with rental income and/or your salary income before your retirement.  At the age of 55, withdraw all your remaining EPF savings and pay down the loan. With careful planning, you may need to work just a few more years to have a piece of rental property free of mortgage payments.

These are just a few examples. There are many possible arrangements with rental properties, EPF savings, monthly salaries and property loans. It depends on your scenario. Plan it wisely.

* You don’t have to wait until 50 years old to withdraw your EPF’s Account 2 for your first or second residential properties (Please check the specific conditions stipulated by EPF).

3. Buy Shares

Besides properties, shares are also good instruments to hedge against inflation. This option has higher risks for people who are not so financially savvy. The key is to buy blue chip stocks that generate positive cash flow, growing profits and consistently declare good dividends. And buy these stocks at fair prices.

It is easy to find such good stocks simply by following good fund managers who are famous for value investing. Just read the annual reports of their funds. One of such funds is listed in Bursa Malaysia’s main board, i.e. icapital.biz Berhad. Read its annual report to find out the stocks that the fund invested in.

The next step is to buy these good stocks at fair prices. Learn the ratios like P/E (price earning) and dividend yield. Learn about the business cycle and that when interest rate goes up, general market share prices come down and vice versa. It is about a simple idea of buying at low prices and receiving dividends for the long-term. You may not catch the bottom, but as long as you are not buying at a ridiculously high price, with holding power you can hardly lose money on these blue chip stocks.

If you think that trying to time the stock market is a bit too stressful and “risky” then just buy these selected good stocks progressively and periodically over a period of one to three years using your EPF savings.

4. Monthly withdrawal

Some may suggest that in order to prolong the period of depleting our EPF savings, we should opt for monthly payment withdrawal instead of a lump sum withdrawal. I just think it will be more rewarding to take out the entire EPF savings if you learn to invest carefully and wisely into rental property or shares. Due to high inflation rates, the return of investing in properties and shares is always higher than the dividends paid out by EPF.

Ultimately the above suggestions cannot work properly if there is no other source of retirement funds besides EPF. We need to build multiple “financial nest eggs” before we hit retirement age.

To build more financial nest eggs other than EPF

1. Private Retirement Scheme (“PRS”)

In 2012, a new type of fund was approved by the Malaysian government as an alternative solution for employees or self-employed persons to save for their retirement. It is called a Private Retirement Scheme. There is no fixed interval or fixed amount to invest in such schemes. It is entirely up to the investor on a voluntarily basis. While you can withdraw 30% of your invested fund once a year, you can only withdraw the remaining 70% upon reaching retirement age.

I am not a fan of investing in managed funds but this PRS fund has a unique feature. For the first ten years from assessment year 2012, your annual contribution into PRS fund, up to RM3,000, is tax deductible. This is in addition to the RM6,000 tax deduction permitted for EPF contribution and life insurance premium and the RM3,000 tax deduction permitted for education or medical insurance premiums.

If you invest RM3,000 in PRS funds annually for the next 9 years and your tax bracket has hit 26%, your return from such tax incentive alone would be 4%-5% in average annually for the next 9 years on top of the return from the fund performance. Of course, the return from fund performance depends on the fund manager of the fund you choose. There are many insurance and unit trust companies offering PRS funds.

Build a few “financial nest eggs” that generate income in retirement years

2. Property, again

I cannot help but notice the characteristics of the people around me who had reached their retirement age without financial worries. They may or may not be “financially literate” in our definition, but they made good buying decisions when they were young.

Almost all of them bought some form of properties like shops, apartments, small pieces of land, big houses, etc. They were not rich people or high income earners when they were young. Among them were fishmongers, tailors, grocery shop owners, teachers, office workers, accounts executives, etc. They saved money diligently and at one point or other in their lives, they bought a piece or a few pieces of important properties, alone or shared with someone they trust, that in later years bring in passive income or a lump sum fund for their retirement. There was no fancy financial instrument.

3. Shares, again

Some of them do hold shares.

The logical way is to invest in shares with consistent earnings growth and consistent dividend payout. There are quite a number of such stocks in Bursa Malaysia. You just need to buy them at fair prices and keep them for long term.

From friends and relatives, I also noticed that some who made money in stock markets follow a few good blue chip shares closely. They do not trade these stocks actively. They bought these stocks in the year when the market was bad and sold these stocks in the year when the market was good.

4. Skills and lifestyles

If you love your work and if your experience or knowledge are in demand, you can choose to continue to work after reaching your retirement age. I know ex-teachers who are giving tuitions. I know one ex-manager who turned into a high earning consultant helping companies to set-up production plants as he has specific knowledge of the industry. Are you accumulating the right experience so that you can continue to do what you love and earn income in the supposedly retirement age?

There are many non-financial ways to deal with financial issues like savings depletion.

For instance:

Keep a healthy lifestyle when young to avoid diseases or sicknesses caused by alcohol, cigarettes and excessive “good” food. Diet and exercise may help you save some medical bills avoiding alcoholic liver disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. It is not a 100% guaranteed preventive measure but it is definitely worth a try.

Observe how your grandparents support their retirement years, i.e. by having children, giving them education and instilling good values. Make sure you treat your parents properly to set a good example for your children to learn filial piety.

For most of us, EPF savings alone is not enough for retirement. EPF savings should not be our only source of retirement funds.

While there are many good ideas from the internet, books, TV programs, online and real life courses, etc, the success of retirement planning depends on fine execution of good ideas. We just need to continue to explore and learn. Try to attend property seminars or financial courses to learn the proper execution details to avoid serious mistakes. One of the best ways to learn how to deal with financial issues of retirement is to talk to those who are living happily in their retirement years.

This article is contributed by Financial Planning Malaysia dot com, a pioneer Malaysian financial education blog with quirky but logical ideas. Since 2005.

Clement Jouling ialah Perunding Unit Amanah berlesen (Licensed Unit Trust Consultant). Sekiranya anda berminat untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut tentang pelaburan unit amanah, boleh hubungi beliau terutamanya buat anda yang berada di Kota Kinabalu dan sekitarnya.