UOB Asset Management (Malaysia) Berhad (UOBAM) has launched its first Shariah-compliant global balanced fund – the United-i Global Balanced Fund – to help Malaysian investors achieve a stable income with lower volatility by investing in a diversified global portfolio of Shariah-compliant asset classes.
The fund is most suitable for investors with a moderate risk appetite and a medium- to long-term investment horizon as balanced portfolio coupled with Shariah filters put in place, greatly reduces the risk of investment.
Fund will invest in Shariah-compliant equities and sukuk bonds globally in the ratio of 50:50 in multiple asset classes. To ensure a selection of sectors and companies it invests in are Shariah-compliant, filters are implemented. A negative screen is implemented for sectors such as gambling, weapons and tobacco to name a few, and for companies with unproductive cash pile. UOBAM engages Amanie Advisors as its Shariah Adviser to ensure investments complies with Shariah requirements.
Lim Suet Ling, Chief Executive Officer of UOBAM Malaysia said:
“The United-i Global Balanced Fund aims to reduce investment volatility through Shariah screening which filters out non-Shariah sectors such as gambling, weapons and tobacco companies as well as companies that are overleveraged or having unproductive cash piles. This ensures that only companies with low debt ratios and strong fundamentals are included for selection, providing investors with potentially lower investment risk and competitive returns.”
Another advantage of the fund is that it utilises the multi asset expertise of UOBAM Malaysia to decide on the fund’s asset allocation which includes an analysis of macro leading indicator, earnings growth, valuations and market momentum.
“The United-i Global Fund’s investment are diversified across Asia, Europe, Middle East and the United States. Further diversification is achieved through asset class allocation which ensures that the source of the fund’s returns are not concentrated on one asset class but spread across different classes that exhibit little correlation with each other. The fund manager will base his asset allocation on a thorough understanding of the portfolio companies, including the macroeconomic factors that influence their long-term growth. The fund manager’s selection will also be determined by company’s fundamentals such as asset quality, earnings and revenue growth and its ability to outperform industry peers,” added Lim.
Subject to the availability of income, the fund managed by UOBAM Malaysia with UOB Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd, targets to make an annual income distribution to its investors. The United-i Global Balanced Fund has an initial minimum investment of RM1000 and is available in USD, AUD, GBP, RMB and SGD share classes. It is available at all United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd branches.
