New Fund: OSK-UOB Absolute Return Fund

With market continuously rotating between "risk-off" and "risk-on", an absolute return mandate with the adoption of a dynamic asset allocation approach would be a good vehicle to ride out the volatility. With the fixed income market having outperformed over the last 5 years, there is a high possibility that good quality equities - those with earnings growth and clarity supporting healthy dividend payouts would find favour.

This is a wholesale fund which aims to achieve medium to long term (3 - 7 years) capital appreciation through investments in equity and equity related securities of companies, and exchange traded funds with the potential to deliver total return in excess of the fund's benchmark return (8% growth per annum).

Investment Strategy

Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan) will the focus of this fund, either through equity or equity related or exchange traded funds. The manager views the region as a vibrant economic growth region supported by factors such as favorable demographics, improving per capita incomes, positive foreign direct investment flows, and vast natural resources.

The strategy is to identify such investment opportunities in its early phase and select companies with strong fundamentals and attractive valuations to capitalize on its growth. Undervalued securities are uncovered through intensive and independent fundamental research.

A Barbell approach - buying dividend yielders coupled with growth (and cyclical) & value stocks would provide a combination of steady cash flows and capital appreciation. This new fund to some extent would allow the portfolio managers to focus more on stock picking without ignoring developments at the macro level.

Meanwhile, the fund's asset allocation is totally flexible between equity and fixed income / money market, depending on economic conditions.

Click here to download the fund's "Information Memorandum"

New Fund: Hong Leong Hong Kong Equity Optimizer Fund

Finally, there is a new fund from Hong Leong Asset Management (HLAM). The fund is designed to capture the vibrant growth of the Hong Kong capital market. The Hong Kong market has one of the world's leading securities exchange in the Asian region which is one of the fastest growing capital markets by market activity and new listings

Hong Kong, dubbed as Asia's most liquid exchange, acts as a key platform in the internalization of the Renminbi (RMB) currency. This allows investors to participate in the RMB appreciation potential via investments in equities and bonds.

The new Hong Leong Hong Kong Equity Optimizer Fund, being a growth fund, will invest primarily in equities and equity-related securities that are listed on the Hong Kong Exchange. Meanwhile, the balance may be invested in domestic and Hong Kong fixed income securities.

To achieve its investment objective, the Fund adopts an actively managed investment strategy which may include investment in common stock and depository receipts of companies, unit trusts funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

The Offshore Investment Adviser

GuocoCapital Limited (GCap) has been appointed as the offshore investment advisor for the Fund, in which GCap shall provide advice on the Manager's equity and equity-related securities in Hong Kong market. GCap is an established brokerage house with a diverse clientele, offering a full range of services, including modern delivery channels such as the Internet and the Automated Trading Hotline (IVRS). GCap is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guoco Group Limited which is a listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The Fund is suitable for investors who:

• have a medium-to-long term investment horizon;
• wish to participate in potential investment opportunities in the Hong Kong market;
• are seeking primarily capital growth and to a lesser extent income; and
• are willing to accept higher risk in their investments to obtain potentially higher returns

Source: HLAM

Click here to download the prospectus

New Fund: OSK-UOB Multi-Asset Recovery Strategy Fund

With the ongoing global economic recovery and the various opportunities created from the vast stimulus packages put forth by governments around the world, we are currently witnessing differing levels of economic expansion across all economies. And different asset classes such as equities, bonds, commodities, currencies and cash perform differently under different stages of economic expansion.

Hence, OSK-UOB now offer investors a fund that will capitalize on the potential opportunities arising from the different market conditions resulting from this economic expansion phase by dynamically investing in multi-asset classes that are expected to do well in specific market conditions.

The OSK-UOB Multi-Asset Recovery Strategy Fund is a fund-of-funds which aims to achieve long term capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The fund aims to achieve its objective through a portfolio of ETFs chosen from 5 major asset classes, i.e equities, bonds, commodities, foreign exchange (currencies) and money market instruments selected from the global markets. The fund's name reflects the fund's strategy that capitalize on the recovery of the global economy by dynamically investing in multi-asset classes through a portfolio of ETFs.

How much return?

This fund is benchmark against an average annual return of 8.00% over the long term. This is the targets of the fund.

Investor Profile?

This fund is suitable for investors who:

• want to capitalize on the recovery of the global economy with an investment that invests dynamically in multi-asset classes through a portfolio of ETFs
• seek capital appreciation
• have a medium risk tolerance
• have a long term investment horizon

Source: OSK-UOB Unit Trust Management Bhd

Click here to download prospectus

New Fund: OSK-UOB Capital Protected Sector Strategy Fund

Yet, another capital protected fund for investors by OSK-UOB unit trust management. Following the pump priming efforts by governments around the world during the financial crisis, the global economies have begun to stabilize and signs of recovery are growing strong. The stimulus packages introduced have benefited broad market sectors to a different extent in each sector at each stage of recovery.

"At each stage of the economic recovery, different market sectors will benefit to a different extent. These 4 sectors which are well diversified are expected to capitalize on the different sectors' play", said Ho Seng Yee, CEO of OSK-UOB.

According to Ho, the fund shares a similar strategy with the OSK-UOB Capital Protected Gold Guru Fund that was launched in 2009 and has registered returns of 29%.

Funds' Allocation & Strategy

This is a 4-year close-ended capital protected fund which aims to provide capital appreciation over the medium term whilst protecting investors' capital on the maturity date. To accord for the capital protection feature, the fund will invest primarily in 4-year ZNIDs with the remainder of the capital raised invested in 4-year over-the-counter (OTC) option whose underlying asset is the Multi Sector Strategy ("Sector Option") to generate the returns for the fund.

The Multi Sector Strategy Option

It provides investors an exposure to 4 distinct market sectors represented by exchange traded funds in the Energy, Material, Financial and Consumer Discretionary sectors.

While the Sector Option is denominated in Ringgit Malaysia, the underlying Multi Sector Strategy is based in Singapore Dollars, thus, the Fund's return is subject to exchange rate risk.

Source: OSK-UOB unit trust management bhd

To read the fund's prospectus, please click here .


Related Posts:
New Fund: OSK-UOB Asia Financials Fund
New Fund: OSK-UOB US Focus Equity Fund
Unlocking the Mystery of Capital Protected Funds

Understanding Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)

What is an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)?

An ETF is an open-ended investment fund listed and traded on a stock exchange, which aims to track the performance of an index and to provide access to a wide variety of markets and asset classes. By holding a basket of individual securities, an ETF allows an investor to expose to many companies or fixed income securities with one single trade.

Benefits of Investing in ETFs...

• Prices are available throughout the day (according to trading time of Bursa Malaysia)
• Flexibility and Liquidity, due to combination of trading on an exchange and the continuous offering of units
• Transparent portfolio. Investors will know exactly what stocks they are investing in
• Diversification
• Lower management costs as compared to mutual funds

How is the pricing of an ETF done?

The market price of units in the ETF is subject to supply and demand. Although Net Asset Value (NAV) of the ETF will approximate the trading value of the underlying securities held plus any undistributed income, the trading price of units may differ from NAV per unit of ETF. Anyway, arbitrage will help to keep the traded price of an ETF in line with its underlying value.

Why invest in ETF?

• Generally, an ETF uses indexing, or called "passive management"
• An ETF trades like shares, but offers diversification and exposure similar to an index unit trust fund
• It offers market level performance as it aims to match the performance of a specific index, net of fund expenses
• It also has lower management fees and operating expenses
• Stock selection and weightage is totally based on the index selected 

What are the differences between ETF and Unit Trust Fund?

Source: www.financemalaysia.blogspot.com