Kuala Lumpur, 17 April 2020: Kenanga Investors Berhad (“Kenanga Investors”) picked up a total of five (5) awards at the Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards 2020 (“the Awards”). The fund house’s Shariah flagship fund, Kenanga Syariah Growth Fund (“KSGF”), was named “Equity Malaysia – Malaysia Islamic, 10 years”. Meanwhile, its Kenanga Diversified Fund (“KDF”), a mixed asset fund which seeks to provide investors with capital appreciation, was awarded a double honour; “Mixed Asset MYR Flexible - Malaysia Pension, 5 years” and “Mixed Asset MYR Flexible – Malaysia Pension, 3 years”. As a fund manager, KIB won the “Best Mixed Asset Award – Malaysia Pension” and “Best Equity Award – Malaysia Islamic” titles.
Shortly after winning the “Malaysia Best Equity Fund over 10-years” at the Refinitiv Lipper Global Islamic Fund Awards 2020, the asset management arm of Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad met with success again at this year’s much anticipated Awards in Malaysia. Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of KIB, Ismitz Matthew De Alwis says that the fund house appreciates that the wins came during a difficult time, especially when market sentiment appears to be low due to local and global occurrences. “It is an honour to receive not just one, but five awards from Refinitiv Lipper, which will definitely spur us on to work even harder for our clients to ensure consistent top performance,” he says.
This is the third time that KIB has won “Best Equity – Malaysia Islamic” at the Awards. De Alwis credits this to KIB’s strict adherence to its own investment philosophy of fundamental bottom-up stock picking across for all funds which is primarily driven by extensive research on undervalued stocks whose fundamentals are deemed superior and sustainable. “On top of never swaying from our investment philosophy, we have put in place stringent risk management policies and procedures which have led us to avoid taking unnecessary risks, a quality that is more critical than ever at present,” says De Alwis.
KIB’s disciplined approach has resulted in the sustainability of its fund performances which saw the Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (“MARC”) assign investment manager ratings of IMR-2 to both KIB and KIIB for the fourth consecutive year.
Chief Investment Officer, Lee Sook Yee adds that in 2019, methodical quantitative and qualitative research led the fund house to investments in companies within the technology, semiconductor and export sectors. “We chose these companies for their strong earnings growth driven by positive secular growth and structural stories. Additionally, we maintained our conviction in certain small-cap stocks despite the selldown in 2018, guided by the sector’s attractive valuations and superior earnings prospects which resulted in market-beating performances for all funds in various categories,” she says.
Addressing the current pandemic that has enveloped nations worldwide, De Alwis urges investors to remain calm and objective with their current investment holdings instead of resorting to panic-selling. “Investors need to revisit their original investment objectives; those that are long-term in nature, which includes most unit trusts, need time to achieve their stated objectives. By allowing your holdings to ride out market volatilities, your investments will be able to generate their expected returns at the end of their investment periods. Often times, when investors relinquish their holdings when the market is in a downturn, they miss out opportunities for future price increases,” advises De Alwis.
As at 31 December 2019, KSGF delivered returns of 18.18% (1-year), 14.17%* (3-years), 22.14%* (5-years) and 147.32% (10-years). For the same period, KDF’s returns stood at 18.94% (1-year), 32.50% (3-years), 44.60% (5-years) and 119.94% (10-years).
The Awards, granted annually, highlights 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.
For more information about Kenanga Investors, please visit www.kenangainvestors.com.my.
