Kuala Lumpur, 9 April 2020: Kenanga Investors Berhad’s (“KIB”) Kenanga Syariah Growth Fund (“KSGF”) was named “Malaysia Best Equity over 10-years” at the Refinitiv Lipper Global Islamic Fund Awards 2020 (“the Awards”).
According to Ismitz Matthew De Alwis, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of KIB, this success serves as a testament to what the fund house has been striving to achieve, that is, ensuring Consistent and sustainable Top Performance. “We are honoured to have been awarded the “Malaysia Best Equity Fund over 10 years” title. We foster a culture of excellence and the strength of our business is rooted in our focus on our clients and our people. We have been steadfastly committed to putting our clients' interests first and this award further reaffirms our deep knowledge of local markets and the breadth of our extensive investment capabilities, which are among the most innovative within the market, locally and in the region”, he says.
This further validates the fund house’s use of its long-term bottom up investment philosophy. KSGF held overweight equity positions in sectors with long term structural growth such as technology, manufacturing and gloves. These sectors provided core outperformance while timely trading in sectors such as oil & gas and construction sectors also contributed. Additionally, the fund also held key positions in high dividend yielding companies such as REITs which benefited from the falling interest rate environment.
“The Awards celebrate exceptional investment management. In a year of dramatic change across the global economy, climate, the environment and political cultures, it has never been more important to have your investments entrusted with talented and experienced professionals. The Awards recognize those exceptional managers and fund management groups who navigate these changes and steer your savings into outperforming returns”, said Robert Jenkins, Head of Research, Lipper, Refinitiv. “We at Refinitiv congratulate the 2020 Refinitiv Lipper Fund Award winners for delivering outstanding performance to their investors and wish Kenanga Investors continued success.”
“In the near term, markets are likely to remain subdued as daily additions of new COVID-19 cases outside of China continue to rise. The first quarter of 2020’s economics data may see a sharp decline and may come in lower-than-expected but the key concern is the pace of recovery from the second quarter onwards. Other than measures to contain the virus, increasing policy support from major central banks is helping to ensure sufficient liquidity in the system to cushion the negative impact”, says De Alwis.
He advises investors to remain calm and avoid the herd mentality of fearing the market. “We believe that though the impact on global growth from the outbreak may be significant, it is expected to be relatively short-lived. In the meantime, though, investors should still consistently invest for retirement and other financial goals. The stock market reflects the economy, which will eventually recover from the coronavirus. History shows that if you can ride out market lows, stocks should gain in value over time. This is the time to employ the dollar-cost averaging strategy.”
KSGF delivered returns of 14.17%* (3-years), 22.14%* (5-years) and 147.32% (10-years) as at December 2019, consistently outperforming its benchmark to clinch the award.
Launched in 2002, KSGF aims to provide unit holders with long-term capital growth by investing principally in equities that comply with Shariah requirements. The award is another feather in the cap for Kenanga adding to a string of funds’ awards the firm has won over the years.
The Awards, granted annually, highlight funds and fund companies that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. The Awards are based on the Lipper Leader for Consistent Return rating, which is a risk-adjusted performance measure calculated over 36, 60 and 120 months. The fund with the highest Lipper Leader for Consistent Return (Effective Return) value in each eligible classification wins the Award.
For more information about Kenanga Investors, please visit www.kenangainvestors.com.my.
For more information, see lipperfundawards.com. Although Refinitiv Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Refinitiv Lipper.
*Results Source: Lipper Investment Management as at 31 December 2019
