Public Capital Protected Select Portfolio Fund (PCPSPF)

Public Mutual unveils new capital protected fund, Public Capital Protected Select Portfolio Fund (PCPSPF) on 29 July 2008 (Tuesday), with exposure in gold and oil & gas related sectors.

The fund allows investors to enjoy capital protection upon maturity of the fund while participating in the upside growth potential of the gold and oil & gas related sectors.

While PCPSPF being a 100% capital protected fund, it also provides investors with the additional benefit of participating in the upside potential of the gold and oil & gas sectors as well as hedge part of their investments against inflation.

Gold has always been perceived as a hedge against rising inflation as gold provides a stable store of value amidst uncertainties in financial assets. Investing in the oil & gas sector is also a hedge against the current cycle of inflation which was fuelled by the uptrend in oil prices in recent years.

At least 85% of its net asset value (NAV) will be invested in Ringgit-denominated zero-coupon negotiable instrument of deposits (ZNIDs) and liquid investments comprising high quality debentures and money market instruments. The balance of the fund’s NAV will be invested in a portfolio of exchange traded funds (ETFs), equities and equity-related securities of gold and oil & gas related sectors.

The Initial Offer Price of PCPSPF is at RM0.9901 per unit during the 45-day initial offer period of 29 July 2008 to 11 September 2008. The service charge is at RM0.0099 per unit, which is 1% of the NAV of the fund during offer period.

PCPSPF is a closed-end fund, the units will only be sold during Offer Period. The minimum investment for the fund is RM1,000. The Maturity Date is on 21 September 2011 or earlier if the fund is fully sold before 11 September 2008.

Launch Date: 29 July 2008

Approved Fund Size: 300 million units

Financial Year End: 31 August

Fund Objective:
Seeks to achieve capital appreciation over the tenure of the Fund while providing capital protection upon maturity of the Fund.

Risk Profile of Fund: Low risk

Investor Profile: Conservative

Investment Strategy:
PCPSPF will invest at least 85% of its NAV in Ringgit-denominated zero-coupon negotiable instrument of deposits (ZNIDs) and liquid investments comprising high quality debentures and money market instruments. The balance of the Fund’s NAV will be invested in exchange trade funds (ETFs), equities and equity-related securities in gold and oil and gas related sectors.

Targeted Market to Invest:
Fund will invest in the domestic market and selected foreign markets which include the United States of America, Europe, Japan, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, India, Indonesia and other approved markets.

Benchmark: 12-month Malaysian Fixed Deposit Rate quoted by Public Bank Berhad.

Principal Risks: Interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, currency risk and country risk.

Trustee AmanahRaya Trustees Berhad (766894-T)

Designated Fund Managers: Mr. Tan Yan Heong and Ms. Chen Yuet Fong

Tenure/Maturity Date: 3 years/3rd anniversary of the Commencement Date.

Repurchase Charge per Unit Redemption request made before Maturity Date :
1.5% of NAV per unit

The Award Lists just get longer for Public Mutual.

On June 30, 2008, Public Mutual received the BrandLaureate Award 2008 in the Financial Services - Investment Funds Category. This is the second consecutive year the company is awarded the prestigious accolade which is presented to the best brands from various industries in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region. Public Mutual director Dato’ Lee Kong Lam accepted the award on the company’s behalf during the awards ceremony at Sunway Resort Hotel.

Winner for the awards were selected based on a points system covering brand strategy, brand culture, integrated brand communications, brand equity and brand performance. Public Mutual’s parent company, Public Bank, also won the award for brand excellence in the Financial Services – Banking & Finance Category at the same awards ceremony.

Public Far-East Telco & Infrastructure Fund (PFETIF)

Public Mutual will launch its first regional telecommunications and infrastructure fund, Public Far-East Telco & Infrastructure Fund (PFETIF)on 8 July 2008 (this coming Tuesday).

PFETIF enables investors to participate in the rollout of infrastructure services to meet the growing needs of the Far-East region. In recent years much has been said about improving the telecommunication sectors, with Wimax and Wireless network being implemented to create a society that can obtain information anytime anywhere.

Besides, to ensure that infrastructure services are adequate to support their growth, Asian economies will continue to invest in the infrastructure sector over the medium to long term. For example in Malaysia, the electrified double tracking railway project between Padang Besar and Ipoh (a joint venture project between Gamuda and MMC Corporation), and the 2nd Penang bridge.

Based on a CLSA Asia Pacific Markets report, “Ramping Up Asia’s Infrastructure Stimulus, March 2008”, Asian countries are expected to spend an estimated US$1.8 trillion on construction of roads, railways, power plants, telecommunications and other infrastructure projects over the 5-year period until 2012.

Infrastructure assets also offer positive long-term prospects as the underlying cash flows of concession companies are usually stable and linked to an inflation index through a negotiated pricing formula. Following the retracement in regional equity markets for the year to date, selected telecommunications and infrastructure stocks are currently trading at valuations that are below their longterm average.

PFETIF mainly investing in securities, mainly equities, in the telecommunications, infrastructure, and utilities sector in Far-East markets. Up to 98% of PFETIF’s net asset value (NAV) can be invested in selected foreign markets which include South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and other approved markets. PFETIF will looking to profit into the long-term growth potential of a portfolio of regional stocks in sectors which include telecommunications, construction, building materials, expressways, transportation, water works, infrastructure and utilities.

The equity exposure of PFETIF will generally range from 75% to 90% of its NAV.

Risk Profile: Aggressive

Initial offer price: RM0.2500 per unit

Offer period: 8 July 2008 to 28 July 2008.

During the offer period, a special promotional service charge of 5% of NAV per unit is extended to the purchase of units of PFETIF by investors. Normal service charge rate is at 5.45%.

Fixed Deposits have Risks too!

Most people thought that putting money in Fixed Deposits is the safest way to keep money growing and it is risks-free. Though I would agree that FDs is one of the safer way to keep your capital, I disagree that FD actually help your money grow, and surely it is not risks free.

And the risks involve is Inflation Risks. With the current FD rate of 3%, putting your money in your FD is actually making it depreciating, though it give the false impression that it actually appreciating with the interest given. Figure wise, yes, it is appreciating, as the bank give out interest to FDs, and the balance figure keep increasing with the interest added. Value wise, No! It is not appreciating, instead it is depreciating as inflation reach 5%. The money you put into the FDs is actually depreciating at a rate of 2%.

So if you think there is putting your money in FDs alone is enough as it is the safest way, better think again!

Inflation

With the recent hike of petrol prices in the country, one of the inevitable result from it is: Inflation.

With a hike of 41% in petrol prices, no doubt the inflation rate in the country will also rise. Economist are predicting inflation rate of the country will rise to 5%. Not too bad considering there are also significant increase in rice prices. But what most of us didn't noticed is that, everyone's inflation rate is different. This 5% is not applied to every Malaysian in the country. This 5% is the average of the whole country.

That means, if you are living in the capital or big city, your inflation will definitely be more than 5%. Why? Actually you can actually measure your own inflation by jotting down your expenses for this year, and compare the amount with your expenses next year. A month by month comparison will be unnecessary as there will not be much of a difference between this month and next month. I now give an example on how to calculate.

Let's say you drink a cup of coffee everyday. The price now is RM1.00. For 365 days, you will spend RM365 / year. After this petrol hike, assuming the price increases RM0.20, so now the price for one cup is RM1.20. For 365 days, the cost is RM438, an increase of RM73. This increase is 20%, therefore your inflation is 20%, way above the national value of 5%.

This is just a single item example. If you add up your every expenses, more often that the percentage will be even higher, as normally prices of products keep going up!

Another Socially Responsible Action Taken by Public Bank Group

Public Bank on behalf of its wholly-owned subsidiary Public Mutual Berhad contributed RM200,000 to help the victims of the devastated Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

This contribution will go towards the relief efforts of rebuilding the life of those affected by the natural disaster.

The contribution is presented by Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow, through MERCY Malaysia at Menara Public Bank today.

Tan Sri Teh added that this contribution is in line with the corporate social responsibility programmes or CSR of the Public Bank Group to help deserving communities and needy.

The Public Bank Group's CSR programmes include efforts and projects in key areas such as nation building, education, environmental conservation and health care. The Public Bank Group works with the Malaysian government and non-profit organisations in various community projects.

Public Mutual has more than 35,000 agents throughout Malaysia to sell and distribute its funds. As at 30 April 2008, the total net asset value of the funds managed by Public Mutual was RM27.8 billion.