KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has released its annual qualifying list of fund management institutions (FMIs) and unit trust funds under the EPF Members Investment Scheme (EPF MIS) effective yesterday.
The EPF said for the 2022/2023 period, a total of 346 funds from 19 FMIs were approved under EPF MIS, of which 202 funds are qualified to be offered to EPF members. Of the funds qualified, 159 funds (78.7 per cent) are local funds, of which 80 funds (50.3 per cent) are equity funds.
Chief investment officer Rohaya Mohammad Yusof said these funds were evaluated annually based on EPF’s established criteria approved by the Ministry of Finance.
For 2022, she noted that EPF had increased the minimum eligibility score of Simple Average Consistent Return (SACR) from 2.33 to 3.00 for funds under the EPF MIS, and 4.00 for new trust funds, adding that the SACR is computed based on the EPF’s aggregate performance over a three-year evaluation period using Lipper Rating for Consistent Return.
“These funds must exceed the Benchmark Relative Performance, and by increasing the SACR score, we are able to ensure that not only are they performing funds, but they also outperformed their peers.
“Any unit trust fund which falls below the minimum eligibility score will be suspended from offering during this period,” she said in a statement yesterday.
Under the EPF MIS, the provident fund said members are given the option to invest up to 30 per cent of the amount in excess of their EPF Account 1 savings with the FMIs, including unit trust management companies and asset management companies, via the EPF MIS, depending on their eligibility based on the Basic Savings Quantum.
To help members aged 55 and above make informed decisions and at a reduced cost, members are encouraged to utilise the EPF’s self-service i-Invest platform, which can be accessed through i-Akaun, EPF said.
“The features in i-Invest would help members to compare different unit trust funds offered by the FMIs, monitor their investment funds through their i-Akaun, and look up information on cost of investment, historical performance, as well as required statutory information,” it said.
Further, Rohaya shared that the key element of i-Invest is that initial sales charges are low as the EPF has enforced a maximum cap of 0.5 per cent, compared to the current 3 per cent for offline and traditional transactions through agents.
“Beginning March 26, 2022, members are able to utilise the new features on the i-Invest platform.
“The Investment Simulator helps members to plan their investments and the Fund Performance Benchmark helps members to compare the selected funds’ performance against the funds’ Lipper benchmark performance,” she added.
However, EPF said members are advised to exercise caution when making any investment decision and seek the right information or professional advice before committing to any transactions.
“Members may consult the EPF’s Retirement Advisory Service at any EPF branches nationwide before participating in MIS. While EPF has approved these funds, it does not endorse or recommend individual funds for members to invest in,” it said. – BERNAMA
