Led by weaker offshore markets, the FBM KLCI fell below 1,500 points to touch five-week intraday low of 1,476.8 points on Wednesday. However, selected bargain-hunting helped the FBM KLCI to close at 1,492.1 points for the week and register a decline of 0.9%.

The average daily trading volume was sustained at 1.2 bil units compared to the previous week while average trading value rose to RM2.3 bil from RM1.6 bil over the same preceding period.

On Wall Street, share prices moved in a trading range over the holiday-shortened week as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the holiday shopping retail data. The Dow fell by 1% to close at 11,092 points while the Nasdaq was up 0.7% to close at 2,535 points over the week.

In the U.S., the labour market improved with the initial jobless claims falling to a 28-month low of 407,000 for the week ended 19th November compared to 441,000 claims in the previous week. Meanwhile, U.S. existing home sales fell by 2.2% month-on-month to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million units in October after rising by 10% month-on-month in September as credit conditions remained tight.

Peter Lynch, pengurus dana terkenal di dalam bukunya One Up On Wall Street, menulis “Unit Amanah adalah ciptaan yang sesuai bagi individu yang tidak mempunyai masa atau pun motivasi bagi menguji kebolehan mereka dengan pasaran saham dan bagi orang yang hanya ada modal kecil tetapi berhajat besar mahu melabur dalam pasaran saham.”

Melabur dalam pasaran Unit Amanah mempunyai kelebihannya yang tersendiri jika dibandingkan dengan Open Share Market (melabur terus ke dalam pasaran saham). Pelan simpanan Unit Amanah merupakan pelaburan yang berisiko rendah dan jika dibandingkan di antara keduanya (Unit Amanah vs. Open Share Market), konsep yang lebih jelas di antara kedua-dua pelan simpanan tersebut adalah ‘sama tapi tak serupa’.

Apa Unit Amanah?

Unit Amanah merupakan satu skim pelaburan kolektif dalam sebuah portfolio yang mengandungi pelbagai instrumen pasaran modal yang diuruskan secara sistematik oleh pengurus-pengurus dana profesional.

Unit Amanah adalah skim pelaburan jangka sederhana dan jangka panjang yang dilaksanakan dengan mengumpulkan wang daripada ramai pelabur ke dalam satu dana dan diuruskan oleh pengurus dana secara profesional dan sepenuh masa. Pengurus dana pula melaburkan wang yang dikumpulkan itu ke dalam saham atau sekuriti yang dibenarkan bagi pihak pelabur. Pelabur-pelabur pula menikmati pulangan pelaburan mereka menerusi pengembangan modal dan dividen.

Unit Amanah vs. Saham (Open Share Market)

Ramai dikalangan kita serta para pelabur yang beranggapan bahawa melabur dalam Unit Amanah adalah sama seperti bermain Saham (Open Share Market) kerana silap sendiri ataupun dipengaruhi oleh penasihat mereka. Ini menyebabkan mereka cuba ‘menilik’ pergerakan pasaran. Ada yang bernasib baik tetapi hakikatnya lebih ramai yang gagal.

Pelabur yang beranggapan bahawa Unit Amanah adalah sama seperti Saham akan melabur secara terburu-buru. Ibarat pemandu yang memandu secara terburu-buru dalam arus trafik dan menukar lorong secara tiba-tiba tanpa menghiraukan keselamatan diri asalkan sampai ke destinasi.

Situasi yang sedemikian tiada bezanya seperti pelabur yang bertindak memindahkan simpanannya daripada satu dana ke satu dana yang lain sepanjang masa tanpa mempraktikkan strategi ataupun memberi masa kepada pelaburannya supaya bercambah dan cuba mengejar pulangan yang tinggi dalam masa yang singkat.

Pelabur yang sedemikian tiada sikap sabar dalam kamus pelaburan terhadap pelan simpanan kewangannya sedangkan konsep pelaburan pelan simpanan Unit Amanah adalah lebih kepada horizon waktu. Masa yang ideal diperlukan bagi simpanan sesuatu dana melalui pelan simpanan Unit Amanah adalah paling kurang sekitar tiga tahun.

Rahsia bagi manfaat pulangan berganda melalui pelan simpanan Unit Amanah kuncinya terletak pada masa. Masa memainkan peranan penting terhadap pengembangan sesuatu dana kerana semakin lama tempoh kita menyimpan, maka semakin tinggi pulangan yang bakal kita nikmati. Unit Amanah kurang sesuai bagi pelabur yang mahukan pulangan cepat. Pelaburan Unit Amanah memang nampak membosankan tetapi kita mampu tidur lebih lena kerana pelaburan kita terjamin.

KUALA LUMPUR: A significantly larger number of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members have opted to withdraw part of their retirement savings for investment in unit trusts.

The amount withdrawn under Members Investment Withdrawals in the first quarter of 2010 rose 43.26% to RM911.15mil from RM636.01mil withdrawn in the corresponding period last year, said EPF in a press statement.

Total applications approved under this withdrawal increased to 113,809 from 87,420 in the same period last year.

“The increase in withdrawals for investments is in tandem with the recovery in the domestic economy that began in the third quarter of 2009, and has since continued to gain momentum,” said EPF chief executive officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol.

He added that the increase was also attributed to the rise in the number of members who were eligible for investment withdrawals.

Priority towards prudent investing was also reflected in the increasing number of retirees who opted for Flexible 55 Withdrawals to stretch the value of their retirement savings as opposed to Lump Sum Withdrawals. — Bernama (June 11, 2010)

After starting the week on a firm note, the FBM KLCI eased to an intraday low of 1,487.2 points on Thursday amidst weaker regional markets. However, selective bargain-hunting on Friday helped the FBM KLCI to close at 1,506.0 points to register an increase of 0.4% for the week.

Average daily trading volume decreased to 1,172 mil from 1,697 mil units in the preceding week while daily turnover in value terms fell to RM1,579 mil from RM2,384 mil over the same period.

Regional markets continued to ease on concerns over Ireland’s debt crisis and further tightening of China’s monetary policy. The China ‘H’ shares market registered a weekly loss of 3.6%. However, the Japan market rose by 2.7% as the Yen’s weakness against the Euro enhanced the competitiveness of Japan’s export-based stocks.

KUALA LUMPUR 18 Nov. - Kadar caruman berkanun Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) bahagian pekerja akan dinaikkan semula kepada 11 peratus berkuatkuasa gaji bulan Januari 2011.

Caruman itu dibayar kepada KWSP mulai Februari 2011, kata Pengurus Besar Perhubungan Awam KWSP, Nik Affendi Jaafar dalam kenyataan di sini hari ini.

Kadar caruman berkanun pekerja diturunkan daripada 11 peratus kepada 8 peratus untuk tempoh dua tahun bermula gaji bulan Januari 2009 sehingga Disember 2010.

Majikan dinasihat memastikan jumlah caruman yang betul dipotong daripada gaji pekerja berdasarkan kadar caruman baru ini dan dibayar kepada KWSP bermula daripada caruman bulan Februari 2011.

Beliau berkata, ahli yang sebelum ini mengemukakan Borang KWSP 17A (AHL) Khas/KWSP 17AA Khas untuk mengekalkan kadar caruman pada 11 peratus sepanjang tempoh dua tahun itu tidak perlu mengambil sebarang tindakan.

Caruman KWSP bulanan bahagian majikan kekal pada 12 peratus, katanya.

Majikan yang memerlukan maklumat lanjut boleh mengunjungi cawangan KWSP terdekat, menghubungi Pusat Panggilan KWSP di 03-8922 6000 atau menghantar pertanyaan mereka melalui laman web myEPF di Enquiry. - Bernama

Anak syarikat milik penuh Public Bank, Public Mutual akan melancarkan dua dana baru, Public Dana Islamic Alpha-40 Growth (PIA40GF) dan Public Dana Islamic Infrastructure Bond (PIINFBF) pada 16 November 2010.

PIA40GF merupakan sebuah dana ekuiti Islam yang bermatlamat mencapai pertumbuhan modal dengan melabur dalam maksimum 40 saham mewah, saham indeks dan saham bertumbuh patuh Syariah terpilih yang tersenarai terutamanya pada Bursa Sekuriti dan pasaran-pasaran serantau.

PIINFBF pula adalah sebuah dana bon Islam yang menyediakan pendapatan tahunan kepada pelabur melalui pelaburan dalam sukuk bagi syarikat-syarikat sektor infrastruktur.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Public Mutual Yeoh Kim Hong berkata, “PIA40GF mengguna pakai strategi pelaburan yang lebih bertumpu dan boleh mencapai potensi pulangan yang lebih tinggi dalam jangka masa sederhana hingga panjang di mana dana ini melabur dalam sebuah portfolio saham bertumpu yang mengandungi tidak lebih daripada 40 saham.” Beliau menambah bahawa 88% daripada sekuriti-sekuriti yang kini tersenarai pada bursa tempatan adalah berlandaskan Syariah. Ini mewakili lebih kurang dua pertiga daripada pemodalan pasaran Bursa Malaysia. Pelabur-pelabur yang ingin melabur dalam sekuriti patuh Syariah akan mempunyai pilihan saham-saham patuh Syariah yang meluas yang merangkumi pelbagai industri dan sektor dengan melabur melalui PIA40GF.

The local market commenced the week on a positive note with the FBM KLCI touching a record intraday high of 1,532.0 points on Wednesday. However, a pull-back in offshore markets caused the FBM KLCI to ease to 1,499.8 points and register a loss of 0.8% for the week.

The average daily trading volume was sustained at 1.7 bil units compared to the previous week while average trading value eased to RM2.4 bil from RM2.7 bil over the same preceding period.

On Wall Street, share prices fell on concerns that global economic activities may be dampened by monetary tightening measures in emerging economies to curb rising inflationary pressures. The Dow fell by 2.2% to close at 11,193 points while the Nasdaq was down 2.4% to close at 2,518 points over the week.

In the U.S., consumer sentiment in the U.S. strengthened with the University of Michigan consumer confidence index rising to a 5-month high of 69.3 in November from 67.7 in October on the back of an improving job market and rising stock prices. Meanwhile, U.S. initial jobless claims fell to a 4-month low of 435,000 for the week ended 6th November compared to 459,000 claims in the previous week. After registering a 9.1% increase in August, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 5.3% month-on-month to US$44 billion in September as the weaker U.S. dollar caused imports to decline in September.

Mark Riepe, Senior Vice President, Schwab Center for Financial Research shares the following with Dumb Little Man readers:

Imagine for a moment that you’ve just received a year-end bonus or income. You’re not sure whether to invest now or wait. After all, the market recently hit an all-time high. Now imagine that you face this kind of decision every year — sometimes in up markets, other times in downdrafts. What’s a good rule of thumb to follow?

Our research definitively shows that the cost of waiting for the perfect moment to invest far exceeds the benefit of even perfect timing. And because timing the market perfectly is, well, about as likely as winning the lottery, the best strategy for most of us mere mortal investors is not to try to market-time at all. Instead, make a plan and invest as soon as possible.

FIVE INVESTING STYLES

But don’t take my word for it. Consider our research on the performance of five long-term investors following very different investment strategies. Each received $2,000 at the beginning of every year for the 20 years ending in 2006 and left the money in the market once invested. Check out how they fared:

1. PETER PERFECT was a perfect market timer. He had incredible skill (or luck) and was able to place his $2,000 into the market every year at the lowest monthly close. For example, Peter had $2,000 to invest at the start of 1987. Rather than putting it immediately into the market, he waited and invested after month-end November 1987 — that year’s monthly low point for the S&P 500 Index (a proxy for the stock market). At the beginning of 1988, Peter received another $2,000. He waited and invested the money after January 1988, the monthly low point for the market for that year. He continued to time his investments perfectly every year through 2006.
2. ASHLEY ACTION took a simple, consistent approach: Each year, once she received her cash, she invested her $2,000 in the market at the earliest possible moment.
3. MATTHEW MONTHLY divided his annual $2,000 allotment into 12 equal portions, which he invested at the beginning of each month. This strategy is known as dollar cost averaging. You may already be doing this through regular investments in your 401(k) plan or an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP), which allows you to deposit money into mutual funds on a set timetable.
4. ROSIE ROTTEN had incredibly poor timing — or perhaps terribly bad luck: She invested her $2,000 each year at the market’s peak, in stark defiance of the investing maxim to “buy low.” For example, Rosie invested her first $2,000 at the end of August 1987 — that year’s monthly high point for the S&P 500. She received her second $2,000 at the beginning of 1988 and invested it at the end of December 1988, the peak for that year.
5. LARRY LINGER left his money in cash (using Treasury bills as a proxy) every year and never got around to investing in stocks at all. He was always convinced that lower stock prices — and, therefore, better opportunities to invest his money — were just around the corner.

Peningkatan kekayaan pelabur yang berminat melabur dalam produk-produk kewangan Islam dan perkembangan produk-produk Pasaran Modal Islam akan memperkukuhkan prospek pertumbuhan industri unit amanah Islam dalam jangka panjang.

Di Malaysia, permintaan untuk unit amanah Islam nyata semakin meningkat. Daripada hanya dua buah dana Islam pada tahun 1993, bilangan dana-dana Islam dalam industri unit amanah swasta di Malaysia telah meningkat kepada 146 buah pada hari ini. Setakat 30 Jun 2010, sektor dana Islam mempunyai nilai aset bersih (NAB) sebanyak RM26.37 bilion, iaitu kira-kira 31 peratus daripada industri unit amanah swasta di Malaysia.

Ciri-ciri Unit Amanah Islam
Ciri utama yang membezakan pengurusan dana Islam daripada pelaburan konvensional ialah pematuhannya kepada undang-undang Syariah. Dana-dana Islam mesti mematuhi aktiviti ekonomi yang patuh Syariah dan melabur hanya dalam syarikat-syarikat yang memenuhi kehendak Syariah. Di samping itu, dana-dana Islam tidak boleh melabur dalam bank-bank konvensional yang menawarkan produk dengan kadar faedah tetap tetapi boleh melabur dalam sekuriti Islam dan institusi kewangan Islam. Dana-dana Islam juga mesti menghindari daripada membuat pelaburan dalam syarikat-syarikat yang terlibat dalam produk-produk yang dilarang oleh undang-undang Islam seperti arak, tembakau, daging khinzir, perjudian dan pornografi.

Setelah menyingkirkan syarikat-syarikat dengan aktiviti perniagaan utama yang tidak mematuhi keperluan Syariah, penyaring kuantitatif, dalam bentuk nisbah kewangan, digunakan untuk memastikan syarikat patuh Syariah menjanakan pendapatannya dengan sumber kewangan yang mencukupi dan tanpa hutang yang berlebihan. Selain itu, dana Islam hanya boleh bergiat instrumen kewangan Islam dan tidak boleh mendapatkan atau menyediakan pinjaman konvensional mahupun melabur dalam produk-produk berfaedah konvensional, termasuk sekuriti hutang konvensional. Tunai yang dipegang oleh sesuatu dana hanya boleh dilaburkan dalam produk pelaburan jangka pendek patuh Syariah, misalnya instrumen pasaran wang.

Led by gains in selected index stocks, the FBM KLCI crossed 1,500 points on Wednesday. The FBM KLCI closed at a 33-month high of 1,505.7 points to register a gain of 1% for the week.

The average daily trading volume decreased to 1.2 bil units from 1.4 bil units in the previous week while average trading value eased to RM1.8 bil from RM1.9 bil over the same preceding period.

On Wall Street, share prices moved in a trading range as investors stayed in the sidelines ahead of the results of the U.S. mid-term elections and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on 3rd November. The Dow fell by 0.1% to close at 11,119 points while the Nasdaq rose by a 1.1% to close at 2,507 points over the week.

In the U.S., economic activities was sustained with the 3Q2010 GDP growth sustaining at 3.1% compared to 3% in 2Q2010 on the back of resilient consumer spending, which rose to 1.9% from 1.7% over the same period. For first three quarters of 2010, GDP grew by 2.8% compared to a 2.6% decline in 2009. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment, as measured by the Conference Board consumer confidence index, rose to 50.2 from 48.6 over the same period on better economic outlook. U.S. existing home sales rose for the second consecutive month by 10% month-on-month to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.53 million units in September from 7.3% month-on-month in August following the extension of the government’s tax credit for first-home buyers up to September 2010.

Untuk mengira jumlah wang KWSP anda yang boleh dikeluarkan dan dilaburkan ke dalam Pelaburan Unit Amanah: Klik Di Sini.

Kewujudan dana unit amanah berasaskan Syariah menambah satu lagi bentuk pelaburan kepada masyarakat untuk membuat tabungan dan pelaburan sekali gus memberikan pendedahan dan peluang berkecimpung dalam pasaran modal Islam dan pasaran kewangan Islam.

Alasan ketiadaan pengetahuan dan pengalaman, kekurangan modal serta masa bukan lagi kekangan dan penghalang. Terdapat pelbagai manfaat dan kebaikan yang bakal dinikmati oleh para pelabur atau pemegang unit apabila melabur dalam dana unit amanah berasaskan Syariah berbanding bentuk-bentuk pelaburan yang lain.

Antara kelebihan melabur dalam unit amanah berasaskan Syariah ialah dana diuruskan secara professional dan sistematik oleh pengurus yang berdaftar dengan Suruhanjaya Sekuriti. Mereka ini berupaya membuat analisis pasaran serta mahir memilih komponen portfolio yang terbaik. Ini mencerahkan peluang para pelabur untuk memperolehi hasil pelaburan yang baik kelak.

Dengan adanya pengurus dana yang mempunyai kemahiran dan sumber bagi menguruskan dana, para pemegang unit tidak perlu begitu bersusah payah mengikuti perkembangan pasaran secara terperinci kerana kepentingan mereka diuruskan dengan baik oleh mereka yang berkebolehan dan berkelayakan.

5 reasons why you should also start to invest in the mutual fund:

1. Diversification : Unit trusts provides small investor with an avenue to pool their savings for the purchase of a diversified portfolio of stocks & bonds that will bring returns at lower risks to unitholders compared with investing directly in stock markets.
2. Professional Management : Unit trusts either engage or maintain in-house professional fund managers with the expertise & resources to manage the assets of the fund
3. Liquidity : Unitholders may redeem all or part of their units on any Business Day & have their proceeds mailed to them within 10 days
4. Ease of Transactions : Unit trusts do not require cumbersome administrative or paperwork or record keeping on the part of unitholder in managing his investments
5. Capital Gains : Through participation in securities, unit trust investments provide the opportunity to reap capital growth as part of the return on a unitholder’s investment