There are 3 common strategies used in unit trust investment.

1. Ringgit Cost Averaging

Regularly invest a fix amount in a unit trust fund regardless of market trend is called the Ringgit Cost Averaging strategy. The actual market performance is fluctuating. When the equity market is high, you buy less unit with the same amount. When the market is low, you buy more unit. For long term, you will get much more unit in the lower price range.

2. Portfolio Re-balancing

Portfolio re-balancing is the process of bringing the different asset classes back into proper relationship following a significant change in one or more. More simply stated, it is returning your portfolio to the proper mix of stocks, bonds and cash when they no longer conform to your plan.

Example:

You start investing 50% in equity and 50% in fixed income fund.
1 year later, the equity rises and now your portfolio consist of 80% equity and 20% fixed income fund.
To re-balance your portfolio, you should sell 30% of your total fund in equity and invest it in fixed income fund so that the portfolio is maintained.

This is the simple principle of buying low, and selling high.

If you are investing with Fundsupermart, you can easily do fund switching of your unit trust portfolio by logging into your account online. There are no switching fees involved and you can switch between different unit trust companies.

3. Switching

Switching will lock in the gain you made in your unit trust investment. Switching fees are low and definitely lower than the upfront service charge. When you are making profit from an equity fund, you can switch it to some lower risk fund to lock the gain instead of selling it for cash. When the market turn low, you can switch it back to equity fund.


Downloads






KCLau
KCLau

Personal finance author and trainer

    93 replies to "The SECRETs of Investing in Unit Trust"

    • victim

      Hi all you there, You need to be carefully especially MAAKL MUTUAL BERHAD. They (UTC) were allowed to practise switch between funds to collect the dividend. When dividend collected then switching to other fund to collect the dividend so the dividend payout of a fund will dilute the fund price (switching will cost the investors). FIMM also said it is allowed as it will avoid the timing risk. I am really speechless and they have lacked at all. They (UTC) also recommended anyone buying “unapproved product by Securities commission”. You will be the next victim so.. FIMM, Securities commission and MAAKL MUTUAL BERHAD said not responsible at all. SO Carefully. Take Care bye

    • Jasmine

      i used to invest regularly but found the cost is lower than the price now. The avg cost will get higher if i continue to buy now. Thus, i stopped. May i know if it is correct to do so or i shd continue invest a fix amount regularly?

      Pls advice.

    • Shining

      Hi really need help to fill in HK3 for dividend received [equity & unit trusts], bracket is currently less than 25%. Would love to get back some dough… Try filling in but the numbers does not come out right i.e. I am taxed less than what I am supposed to….Anyone could give example of screenshot?

      Thanks.

    • Wankey

      Hi all, my initial investment was made to PCSF in Nov 2008 at 0.1295, just suspended DCA in April 2012. Then my consultant called me up and advised me to switch to PRSF saying PCSF is not performing well, if I switch at least can get dividends yearly. Total amount invested 15400 and current unit balance is 115987 of PCSF. Should I switch or stay? Please advise. Thanks.

      • Parameswara.K

        do you read the PCSF prospectus? do you realy understand it?

        as at 25/72012 = 115987 x RM0.1384 = RM16052.

        if ur details is corrects, ur r actualy making money…. r u sure ur details is correct?
        why u want to suspend if ur funds giving profits for u?
        what is ur objective? capital growth or annual income/dividend?

        • Wankey

          Mr. Parameswara,

          Thanks for your reply. I also don’t understand why my agent suggested me to switch out of the blue. If my objective is long-term investment and looking in to capital growth then I should stay, right?

          • Parameswara.K

            yes, and …..

            1. Do you happy with current investment?

            2. Do you accept if any lost? this is to indentify your risk tolerance..

            3. Do you set any stop lost? risk management.

            4. Do you understand abt the fund objective? really understand it?

            5. Is your objective similar with fund objective?

            6. Is your exit plan after 10 and more yrs?

            7. Do you follow up the fund performance time to time?

            8. Any idea on re-balance your portfolio time to time?

            9. Do you understand on the asset allocation on this fund?

            10. Is market correction will affect you badly? U r a conservative

            11. if you don’t bother abt market directions and u willing to accept whatever u get in the long run? U r a aggressive.

            FYI, Annual income – to receive a steady distribution annually. suitable funds, Bond, Money market, dividends funds. Distribution policy – annual income.

            while the growth funds, the distribution policy is incidental (meaning, distribution/income, if any) and mainly focus on capital growth medium to long term.

            Most of the funds has both income,(if any) and capital growth.
            more info’s in http://pk31-tips.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-benefit-from-unit-trust.html

            since you already stop the DDI for PCSF, spend some time to study/research/analyze the fund before continue or go for other funds.

            my opinion only.

    • raja

      You are right, Mr. Parameswara. My total investment in PIADF is RM9,137.00 and total units as of 10/7/12 is 41,755,45, that is 0.22 cents per unit. Is that correct? Once again, thanks a lot. GOd bless.

    • raja

      I read with interest the above comments, advice and information regarding unit trust investment. In 2007 when PIADF was launched at the price of 0.25 per unit, I started with my initial investments of RM2,000. Over the years, with dollar costs averaging, the amount now is slightly over RM10,000. I was told unit trust investment is for medium to long term ( 3 – 5 years ), and for 5 years already, i have earned a profit of less than RM1,000. Where by a friend of mine switched from his PCSF ( balance NAV is about RM7,000) to PIDF November last year, and his profit is almost RM1,000. Am I doing the right thing to continue doing DCA or to switch to PIDF, which I think is moving up more faster than PIADF, which has not even reached its initial price of 0.25 as of today. Any advice is very much appreciated.

      • Parameswara.K

        Yes, PIDF moving up faster. mostly allocates in local market. Less tha 50% allocates in local market for PIADF the rest in regional market. both income/dividend funds.

        currently PIDF price is RM0.36++ and PIADF around RM0.24++.
        waht is ur cost per unit or average price?
        cost per unit = total amount u invest / total units u hv.

        my suggestion only;
        1. just continue with PIADF. u can switch to PIDF when market in downtrend. or if any crash.

        2. switch to any Bond or MM funds as temp parking and maintain the DCA. Switch to PIDF when market in downtrend. or if any crash.

        • raja

          Thanks Mr. Parameswara for the quick respond. After calculating based on the above, my cost per unit for PIADF as of 10/7/12 is 0.25. I will take up your advice to continue with what I have been doing, that is, applying ringgit cost averaging
          to gain more profit eventually.

          • Parameswara.K

            Market price as at 10/7/2012 is RM0.2418. if u gain less than rm1000, ur cost per unit shud be lower RM0.2418.

            Param,
            kparam77@yahoo.com
            017-8735029.

    • Cham Kok Chub

      It is.subjective question and depend on how you look at it.

      For my personal perspective, as long as you have the sustainability and willing to average down, i think it.is a good.move. There are always a cycle in regional and International market.

      If you cut loss now, it is consider real lost. You may seek consultation from experts and as long as you feel comfortable in which way, then follow on your course. Hopefully you will find your way.

      Yours Faifthfully,

      Cham Kok Chun

    • Hong

      I have invested in China Select Fund since 2007. But it doesnot perform well until today. Always below bench mark. I acknowledge I didn’t do my homework before I invested. I didn’t even expect the risk it involves. Now I know I am not a risk player. I can’t afford to loose. If I pull out now, I will lost Rm20500. I am thinking of ways to recover the lost. Should I pull out or stay in. The world economy is not well, should I continue to let it sink? Please advice.

      Ms Hong

      • Parameswara.K

        i believe u invest during the fund was launched. that time all stock price are very high. the money u invested used to buy the stock for higher price.

        since the price is gone down and not fully recovered, u make lost.

        1. u may concider to buy units regularly to average down ur cost per unit. (not guarantee if the price keep drop, it should be flactuate to give u profit over the time)

        2. Accept the faith and exit.

        study the market before make the decison. its a suggetion only.

    • Param

      no promise for next 6 months in Unit trust, since UT is for medium to long term. at least 3 yrs and above.

      Since we cannot time the market, (or, u still can wait for better price to enter), IF u well aware on risk management, u can switch ur equity funds to less risk funds (Bond/MM) to protect ur money value, during any correction n u still can continue DCA in less risk funds.

      UR portfolio should be equity (stock or funds) + bonds (less risk) + FD (as emergency funds) + others (if any)

      or, any investment vehicle fit for u.

      100 – ur current age = X
      x% is the allocation for ur equity. the rest is up u.

      age factor VS risk factor.
      the higher the age, the lesser the risk. (suggesion only)

      u can include PSF, PGF, PAGF, PIDF, PDSF and other moderate funds.

      but u already has equity funds, why still going for equity (PRSF), but ur intention is balanced ur portfolio. it should be other than equity funds.

      u can concider balanced fund (60%/40% = equity /bonds) or bond or money market.

      I think u asking abt asset allocations in ur investment portfolio?

      let say ur asset allocation is 50% equity + 30% bond and 20% FD = 100%. u need to review this every year. The portfolio will affect by market trends. if ur portfolio shows 70% /40% / 23% respectively u need to rebalanced it back to ur initial asset allocation.

    • Jordan

      Hi!!

      How to know the risk level of the fund?
      Is equity fund performance link with share market?
      Is it true that bond fund or mony market fund move up when equity fund drop?

      Thanks~

      • Param

        Mr.Jordan.

        The funds risk level/factor clearly documented in prospectus.
        yes, equity fund performance link with share market.

        equity = share market.

        You can manage your money by directly buying share in the equity/share market or give your money to Unit Trust Management Company to manage your money on behalf of you.

        Yes, Bond and money market perform vise-versa with equity market.
        This is due to Bond and money market consider less risk and investors will go for bond and money market during market down trend and vise-versa.

        • Jordan

          Hi!!! Good to see your reply early in Merdeka Day!!

          I am new in mutual fund market & doing ringgit cost averaging for few funds that i am holding. I am looking at portfolio balancing now. How should I move on?
          What do you think about Regular Saving Fund?It went very high in pass few months & now at bottom line.
          What is “preservation” means in Lipper Leaders rating?

          Thanks!

          • Param

            what is your current portfolio?
            equity fund? bond/MM? do u include FD in this portfilio?

            PRSF is not in the bottom line, but its below from past high price.
            Yes, PRSF is better fund too. Asset/Sector allocations localy invested.

            if ur investment objective and risk factor match with PRSF investment objective and risk factor, u can concider this fund.

            preservation = the safety of the capital invested.

            • Jordan

              Dear Param,

              I started with all equity fund. Now trying to build other portfolio. I am doing mixture of ringgit cost averaging & lum sum buy in at low price. Any suugestion? How to include FD?

              PRSF looks good at least in coming 6 months…what do you think?

              Thanks!

    • Cham

      Hi, What Fund is the best is very subjective to individual, for the moments I would like to recommend you these 3,
      Public Small Cap fund is reopening now and is one of the best fund in Public Mutual (5 years return 120-130% from August 2006-2011), 2nd, Public Growth Fund, 3rd Public Regular Saving Fund. You should find any fund that you feel comfortable with and the objective and target return in middle to long term,

      “Invest Ringgit A Day, Keep Poverty Away”

      CHAM KOK CHUN

    • Joyce

      Hi…

      What do you think of the market now? Do you think the market still will be low?Isn’t now is the right market that I should go in? If I’m the aggresive and can take risk people… What type of fund should I invest in this type of market?

      • Param

        Hi, Joyce.

        Unit Trust, buy cheap sell high to make profits. Current market condition maybe is not the best time but can be the better time to enter.

        However, it’s not recommend to invest lump sum. It’s better to buy the units regularly to average down the buying price.

        Ya, for those aggressive, can go to high risk Equity funds.

        For those conservative, better maintain in Bond or Money Market Funds. Or can switch to Equity Funds when the market recover.

    • Param

      Mr.Lim,
      Assume ur risk profile is Conservative to Moderate.
      Base on ur requirement, balance funds will fit ur u, where abt 60% will sits on Equities and 40% Non-equites.

      u can study the fund asset allocations in Public Balance Fund. As at 31/march/2011 –
      54.65% in Equities ,
      27.08% in Money markets instruments & others and
      18.27% in Fixed Income Securities.

      Asset allocation by country;
      27.03% – Malaysia
      13.87% – China
      8.14% – USA
      1.47% – Korea
      1.38% – Indonesia
      1.37% – Taiwan
      0.92% – Japan
      0.47% – Hong kong.

      Public Islamic Balanced fund as per below:
      31/march/2011 –
      54.46% in Shariah-Compliant Equities ,
      25.85% in islamic Money markets instruments & others and
      14.07% in Islamic Debt Securities.

      Asset allocation by country;
      52.46% – malaysia
      2.99% – China
      2.36% – Korea
      2.27% – Taiwan

      u can study abt these funds or other balanced fund at;

      Public Mutual Fund Review at – http://www.publicmutual.com.my/OurProducts/MonthlyQuarterlyFundReview.aspx

      Public Mutual Master Prospectus – http://www.publicmutual.com.my/OurProducts/FundProspectus.aspx

      Public Mutual fund performance chart at – http://www.publicmutual.com.my/OurFunds/FundPerformanceChart.aspx

      Pls take note of service charge.

      Param @ RREMY
      Unit Trust Consultant
      017-8735029
      Kparam77@yahoo.com

      • ROSE

        The best way to invest is always dependence on your risk tolerance.

        Every investment has it’s own way in generating profit.

        In unit trust among alternative way to invest is by creating a diverse investment portfolio.

        Don’t put everything in one egg shelf.

        May be Ramith Sethi in “I will Teach You to be Rich” said it best.

        Happy Investing,

        ROSE MILOK
        013-7136316
        Unit Trust Consultant JB.

        roziemilok@gmail.com

    • Lim

      I am new in the investment and need your advise ( without obligation )

      1. When the Stock Market up, the Bond Fund and Money Market fund will go up
      but in a very thin and minimal step compare to equities trust.

      2. When the stock market down, the equities trust fund will go down hill
      all
      the way, but the bond fund and money market fund will go up ( slightly
      faster but still in minimal step )

      So, let say I predict the global stock market will go down in big way about
      20%-30% within next 6 months, what are the Public Mutual fund that I should
      look into ?

      I want something which is faster than BOND FUND or MONEY MARKET FUND, but
      at
      the same time riding on the dead bull market for the next 6 months.

      Thank you

    • Raj

      Hi,

      Basically I’m new to this site and also in financial investment. To cut it short, I’m a graduate who aspire to be financially independent before my age catches up. I’m currently in a good job and believe that I’m in a right track to achieve my goal (to be financially independent).

      My question would be kind of amateur-like but I think it would be a good head-start. Therefore:

      “Where should I invest if I have RM 5000 in my hand and if I looking to at least double or triple the money”?

      • Netmask8

        For me, USA Stocks because USA is the largest GDP country in the world and got good high income per capita country.. If you are buying unit trust and stocks in Bursa M’sia, the buy and sell shares are in RM .. Ratio 1:1

        If US stock up 1 dollar , your USD investment X currency exchange ( 3.05 ) your investment already triple your profit..Ratio 1 : 3.05 .You may need to read many financials / macroeconomy ‘s books / magazine to make wise decision on your investment. Presently, Global Economies are in recovery stage . It will takes 4-5 years before it reaches expansion and then, peak stage. So, put yr $ in high ratio returns which will generates good profit. For RM5K, you may need to convert it to USD and buy USA stocks in small units.
        For me, i’m putting my money on Citigroup (C), Las Vegas Sands(LVS), Bank of America (BAC), XL Capital (XL), Lloyds Bank(LYG), Beazer Homes(BZH), MGM Mirages(MGM), E-Trade (ETFC) ..etc..etc . IT-Savvy knowledges will be helpful to search useful historical charts/ EPS/ PE Ratio, Current/Quick Ratio, Balance Sheet, CashFlow, Return of Equity(ROE) ..etc..etc..etc Enjoy Learning !!

        • cnaw

          Netmask8-how we can invest in usa market. can you explain. fyi..currently i dont trade locally also

          • netmask8

            1) You may need to open an account to perform stock trading. In Malaysia, you may go to OSK Securities Firm and open an trading account for local Bursa M’sia and another account for Foreign Stock Trades like HK, S’pore and USA.

            2) Login to http://www.etrade.com/ or http://www.schwab.com and apply for an account to trade.Once u got an account, you may wire transfer some $ to securities/firm ‘s bank account b4 u can perform trading online.

            Globally, world stock markets had hit 2 1/2 years high since Lehman Brother collapes, AIG Bailout, Banks in USA hardly hit due to credit crunch. Unit Trust Gain = Very Slow and Steady .. But can’t hedge against inflation cost.

            e.g HK Stocks = Casinos Stocks 1128 Wynn Macau, 1928 Sands China, Banks/Finance Stocks 1398 Industrial Commercial Bank of China(ICBC), 3988 Bank of China, 0939 China Construction Bank ..etc
            e.g S’pore Stocks = G13 Genting S’pore, Z74 SingTel , F34 Wilmar ..etc.

    • Jeevs

      Hi KC,
      I have been following you for quite some time and I personally feel the advice you provide is brilliant.Hands up and many thanks.Looking at what you posted above I don’t really get point no 3.Would you mind elaborating?also
      I read you book ‘Top Money Tips for Malaysians’ and I am a bit confused about the topic on Rule 72 and the Felix Corolllary.Some examples there contradicts what you have mentioned.I am not sure if it was due to the printing error.I could describe further personally if you want me to.Thank you.

      • Zaim

        Hi Jeevs,
        about point no. 3, one can switch between equity and bond funds. bond funds in general are quite stable and not influenced as much by the ups and down of the economy compared to equity funds. So when the stock market starts to decline, you want to switch to bond fund to protect your capital, sort of for parking, even perhaps earn a few percent more, until the stock market moves up again. I have explained a bit more on switching in my blog, http://belirendahjualtinggi.com/forum

        Ok, one may ask, how does one know when the season change? I am not sure what other people use, but I have developed my own system of trend following the price after years of learning technical analysis (you can google up technical analysis). My system is also explained in my blog under UT-XRAY page.

        Many people do not have the time to monitor their investments or become experts in trend following. I am a unit trust and i give monthly update to my clients every month so they dont have to worry.

    • Selva

      Wow! Nice article. Like it very much. Actually am looking to invest in unit trust but as a overseas settled malaysian i was looking for some tips on how to start with unit trust and this was a good one. Is there any agents out there who can help me to set up an account for me

      • KC Cham

        Hi, Selva,

        Just sharing with you, No Obligation. Anyway, Where you FroM?
        If you are in Penang, Of Course I am willing to serve you. I believe a lot of agents will serve their client !!!

        Method 1 (If you need an agent to serve you)

        It just easy as ABC. I deal with one American investor before, you had just need to fill your PASSPORT NUMBER + (A PHOTOCOPY OF IT). Apart from that, If your Passport is subject to renew, you just need to fill “Amendment Particular Investor Form”. Se

        Method 2 ( you can set up in Web –>Open Public Bank Account than apply PBEBANK Online Application), From the Web, you can read and select any fund you feel is suitable for you. You are also free to choose any agent you feel comfortable. You just need to get their Agent I.D then you fill in the WEB. that agent will be your servicing agent. You can choose to contact, email and etc….

        ***NOTE***

        Please beware of service charge of 5.5% for initially and subsequently investment or monthly
        If you bought at the Offer Period, you may only pay for 5-5.25 % service charge or monthly 5.25%. (EQUITY FUND)
        Bond Fund (0.25% Service Charge)

        Switching (From Fund A to B)
        Subject to RM25 per switching (Except you are Mutual Gold/Elite Who invest more than RM100K in Public Mutual.

      • Asriel

        Have you started investing? Have you tried Fundsupermart? There are a lot of articles to help you get started. That platform is also excellent in terms of service, info, help, consultation, free chat online, etc etc… You will have a chance to choose funds from over 40 fund houses, you can rank them in that free online platform and pick the best performing ones, not like Public Mutual where you only get one fund house only. There are a lot of fund houses doing better than Public Mutual nowadays, they provide free switching, better online porter, such as MAAKL. But the first choice everyone should consider is Fundsupermart.com.my… lowest sales charge … only 2%. You can do it yourself… no need to depend on agent, sometimes agents have their own biases that may not fit our style.

        • KCLau

          Thanks Asriel for sharing this. I do recommend Fundsupermart too.

    • Sylvia

      I would like to become a Public Mutual agent, any criterias?
      I plan to invest for myself, as well as for others.
      May I know how to start? What is the target sale per annum?
      Anyone around Subang Jaya area can coach me into doing it correctly?
      Thank you.

      • Will

        Hi Sylvia, you can contact me at 012-747 8868. Thanks.

        • KC CHAM

          GOOD LUCK WiLL,

          Anyway, I just doing this Part Time in Pg. Full time as Real Estate Negotiator.

          I believe Will will help you,Sylvia.

          • Will

            Thanks KC Cham. Sylvia, next Wednesday I will be in Subang Jaya, feel free to call me for a chat.

      • KH CHAN

        I am in Subang Jaya and coaching people
        interested in investment skills and winning
        strategies using unit trust as the vehicle.
        Let’s have a chat and broaden our horizon
        on what you can do.
        Contact 019-3533 543

    • Will

      KC Cham:

      I agree with you.

      • KC CHAM

        Will, thank for your comment, I am the kind of love to Learn from everyone, I know one simple Rule, No One is Invincible, So, Everyone is Master in their own field.

        Investment is a must & Thank KC LAU for his efforts creating this Website and his Money Tips . He contribute a lot to the society, He Practised “GIVE AND TAKE”. GOD BLESS YOU ALL !!!

        “Caring,Sharing & Listening is the best Combination of Medicine in Humanity “

    • Suresh

      Dear friend, I am interested in investing into UT but due to global recession and European currency down fall, the global market is effected. I this a right time to dump our savings into UT or not? If it is the right time,what is the proportionate will be? Is 50% on equity, 30% on bonds then remaining 20% on property?

      Or as mentioned by one of the fellow mates gave a comment that investing into the Brazilian market now, which make sense by 4 years forecast due to World Cup and Olympics. Brazil will be booming.

      Please advise.

      • Will Lim

        Dear Suresh,

        Just to share an advice from Mr. Li Ka-shing:

        Li Ka-shing In response to Brian Lee, who asks “When is the right time to invest in the stock market?”, my answer is, at all times! You are mistaken if you believe that you can time the market for a bigger gain. What you should do is own a diversified portfolio of stocks (an equity index fund) and add your savings to it monthly, in all market conditions. In this manner you will best be positioned to make annual gains of 11-15% over the long term. Clearly, the long term is the only time period that matters!

        Also, own your own home.

        Many can become rich quickly buying risky and volatile assets, but one can quickly lose a fortune this way as well! The wise man invests his money safely, to earn a stable and bountiful return on his investment.

        Follow my advice and you will prosper.”

        If you need further information, please feel free to contact me for a discussion. Thanks!

        • Will Lim

          Also, only invest in financial products that you understand.

      • KC CHAM

        For Me, Unit Trust can start anytime provided what kind of strategies you adopt.. Please don’t TIME the market. Would recommend you practise Dollar Cost Averaging (Passive Way) or Value Averaging (Monitoring Time to Time).
        Please don’t dump all saving, at least spare 3-6 months of emergency Cash for some unexpected incident.

        In Investment : You are your own Boss and responsible for Generating Positive Cash Flow & Future Investment Growth.

        There are no right and wrong, (Asset Allocation), For Eg, A Student may drive at the speed of 80 km/h which he think is comfortably safe, However, An Old Man may drive at the speed of 120km/h which he think is comfortably safe. Everyone has their owns Risk Limitation so, please adjust it based on your Risk Profile, whether you are Risk Taker/ Non Risk Taker.

        *** This is just my personal opinion **** You may need expert advice from friends, Financial PLanner and etc….

      • Param

        Hi. Mr.suresh, if u not start invest in UT yet. U may cantact me at 017-8735029. im willing to serve u.

        tq.
        Param,
        Unit Trust Consultant.

    • cnaw

      hi, i had invested in ASW 2020, ASM and Public Mutual (Public China Select Fund).
      I have no complaints on ASW and ASM as they they had given me very good dividends.
      bought the public china select fund 0.25cents and after three years its around 0.17. Does
      anyone got any idea why this fund is not performing. How long should i wait till i see good return. thanks

      • KH CHAN

        Hi cnaw,
        investment in unit trust is like any game. You need to know the game rules and how it is played. What is it about the PCS fund that motivated you to buy? How to manage the journey? Are there any bumps along the journey? How to know?

        One important factor is to have a knowledgeable and skillful adviser. He will be your guide.

        Anyway for this China fund to pick up from substantial fall over past months, you may have to hold for many months before break even. Look out for China financial news, then you may have a better hold on your investment situation.

        • cnaw

          thanks

    • Mitchell

      Hai,

      I invest in UT as suggested by a friend of mine. She open my account in China market. I don’t know about investment but should I continue investing monthly and does this type of investment will benefit me?

      • Will

        Hi Mitchell, in the short term you may not get any good returns for China funds. You should consider whether the fund’s risk profile suitable you because high returns always accompanied by high risk and vice versa.

    • Yu May

      From my past experiences, switching is not that great as compared to dollar cost averaging investment. I am more in favour of Lucy’s suggestion. My monthly investment in the UT gives me better returns than the one that I switched. Again, it is my personal opinion and I may have switched to the wrong fund at the wrong time. Actually, between investing direct into the stock market and UT, I prefer doing the investment myself.

    • Will Lim

      Eng Hua, switching fee definitely lower than the amount transacted and lower than the service charge. Eg you switch RM10k fund, the switching cost is RM25 but if you sell and buy again you need to pay 5.5% which is RM550.

      Mary, you can do that, but the distribution (or dividend you mention) is from the fund NAV. Eg now your NAV is RM10k, after distribute 2k, you fund will be slightly less than RM8k because everything distribution there is company tax involved. So actually not encourage to do that.

    • Fairuz

      Hello my good fellow friends,
      I think da best way to invest is either through the agent or through the financial adviser. This is because of their routine job to monitor da market daily. But nevertheless, you also need to do some homework such as to find the suitable fund that relates to your fund objectives and especially your time target to harvest your investment cause base on my experiences, most of people want to invest but maybe because of lack of information and experiences they lost their investment. May the market b with u….
      *ps: this is just my personal view base only….
      currently I’m switching my target this year to invest in real property..huhuhu…. (^_^)

    • Mary Tan

      Mr. KC Lau,
      Can I invest a lump sum (RM100K) in one fund ( example : index fund) just to collect dividend in January 2010. When dividend collected then I do switching to Regular Saving Fund, distribution in March 2010. After collected the dividend I do switching again to another fund (eg. P Ittikal fund) I will receive dividend in 31 May 2010.
      Again I do switching to Small cap fund …………………………. till to Saving funds distribution in 31 Dec.
      Is this a good practise to gain more or not ? please advice.
      thank
      Mary Tan

      • Ya Xuan

        Mary,

        Are you start doing this? i hope you didn’t get tie up due to the unit price get diluted.

        Please look for capital gain rather than in interest gain.

      • Will

        Hi Mary, I am a Unit Trust Consultant, when you invest into a fund, it is for 3-5 years investment, not for short term. Frequent switching will incur you RM25/per switching. Also the dividend of a fund and share is different, dividend payout of a fund will dilute the fund price, other than the income you get from the dividend, you do not get any benefit (dividend+NAV). So I suggest you choose a fund that suit your investment objective and invest 3-5 years.

        If you need any advice, please feel free to contact me. Thanks.

        • Nita

          Hye,mary. can i have your contact number?

    • Netmask

      Greetings & G’Day,

      Invest directly into stock market will be better returns. Of course, high risk high gain.If you are a long term player( 10 – 12 years cynical), you’ll notice for the past 30 years, stocks market DROP drastically for 2 – 2.5 years(VERY FAST DROP), and took average 7-8 years(STABLE & STEADY uptrend) to slowly moving upward.

      1. Buy Dow Jones, Nasdaq or UK stocks will gives better currency exchange returns in long term.
      2. Consider buying Brazil STOCK MARKETs NOW!! Why Brazil ?
      FIFA 2014 WORLD CUP OLYMPIC 2016 BRAZIL
      Bought NYSE, NASDAQ stocks during fallouts of Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers, trouble of AIG & USA Banking credit crunch, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. Put Total Investment = RM60K and NOW VAlue at RM 400K .. Per history chart, it will worth few millions if you got patience to keep and hold stocks for 5 – 8 years from now.Beside that, the quaterly PAYOUT dividend is in Higher Currency Exchange..
      Bank Of America(BAC), CitiGroup(C), Las Vegas Sands(LVS), XL Capital(XL), E-Trade(ETFC), MGM Mirage(MGM), General Electric(GE), Alcoa(AA), Beazer Home(BZH) ..

    • alvin

      hi….all unit trust senior,
      i plan to invest in unit trust…but i don’t have any idea & i not really understand about 2nd and 3rd points given above.
      1. how to do portfolio re-balancing???
      2. why we need to do?
      3. what is switching & why need need to switch it??
      4. when & how to switch??
      if all senior got any useful info or hints plz send to me …..thanks !!!

      • HJ ZAIMIE

        alvin,
        have u invested in UTrust? well, for further understanding, its better to hv meeting personnaly as this issue tend to get mis interpretations!!

    • Tom Dorsey

      KC Re-balancing makes no sense what so ever. Its a buzz word used in the U.S. to avoid law suits. Its part of the Modern Portfolio Management process that is TOTALLY discredited. Re-balancing means selling the good things in the portfolio, those that have strong relative strength and are likely to stay that way for a long time and reinvesting those funds you get from selling the good and buying the bad. What would have happened in the Dot Com bust if you were selling Oil that did well for 7 straight years from 2000 and put the money into Internet Stocks. You killed the portfolio. This is only a buzz word to get people to buy into MPT. It is always best for the investor or adviser to be a craftsman at the investment process and tactically rotate the portfolio when sectors and asset classes actually move out of favor. Kind of like Produce in the market changing seasons. Tom Dorsey

      • KH Chan

        I agree with Tom Dorsey. Here is a person who knows the real stuff.
        We must learn to separate the genuine stuff from all the misinformation
        that is going around. To win, the investor either must learn about how to
        win at investing, or latch on to an experienced and skillful advisor.
        Learn to recognize the “market changing seasons” and know what
        investment mode to use.

    • Lucy

      switching has its pro and cons. unless u are sure that u are happy with the returns
      and very disciplined to do the switch into bond fund when necessary. u may plan to switch but when your return hits the target of eg 20% ,emotion takes over and u want to wait a little longer to gain more. Then the market dips, and u are at 15%. Fearful that market may go down further u finally switch at below target. The same applies when u want to switch out into equity. Therefore u lose out both ends.
      The safer way is to invest with affordable monthly standing instruction and have some cash to top up more when market dips. U will be doing forced saving, dollar cost averaging, growing your wealth and grabbing market opportunities to accumulate more units, all in one and less stressful. But before doing all that u must have at least 8 months emergency fund put aside in bond fund or fixed income

    • Thien Rong

      @gavin, nope. When you must switch, you buy based on that fund price so your accumulated total units changed.

      Sometimes looking into balancing/divesification based on asset classes is not enough. You should also have funds invested globally to migrate risks involving a certain country or continent.

    • gavin

      UT is about accumulation of units. If we buy into a fund (equity)that has lower price, we will get more units.
      If after some months, we switch to another fund (equity also) that is higher in price, will our accumulated total units remain the same? Thus when we sell at this new higher price, we can reap more profits. Am I right?

      • KCLau

        @Gavin,

        the total of unit is always recalculated when you switch from fund A to Fund B, depends on the price.

    • gavin

      KC Lau, my portfolio is 50%equity, 20% bond, 15% cash,15% property. I am not into the stock market, thus the closest I get into equity is via UT. Is this portfolio okay?
      2. I am still at the accumulation stage, perhaps will think about switching when I reach 100k. Is it alright?

      • KCLau

        @Gavin,

        You can rebalance your portfolio along the way.

    • […] The secret of investing in Unit Trust […]

    • Jong Chee Jin

      Is it good to take housing loan money to invest in ASB bumiputra unit trust scheme.My spouse is bumiputra.Can I get better benefit in return or is it worth?thanks

      • KCLau

        Hi Chee Jin,

        You are referring to using debt to invest. In fact, it depends on how confident you can get the return that’s higher than bank interest charges.
        For the time being, looks like ASB is giving higher return than bank interest.

    • Jong Chee Jin

      I still owed the outstanding housing loan around RM52000.00.Is it good for me to refinancing my house from UOB bank to maximun full loan to longer period?my age is 45 year old now.

      • KCLau

        HI Chee Jin,

        You can do that as long as it gives you better rate, without penalty.

      • Steven Chee

        It will be better to ask for the new lower interest rate from the house loan provider, in you case, OUB. Then you don’t lost in transfer cost, like lawyer fee, MRTA. You could save about 10%. If you trasfer to other bank, your saving may be just enough to pay for transfer fee. Islam Bank may be the only bank for free transfer. Islam bank rejected my application, reason given was my age, 55 years. Please find out. I have just done the request for lower interest rate from HSBC, and is done in 3 minute, and approval in 1 week. BLR -1.7%. although not so low.

    • Eng Hua

      Since switching will cost the investor, so i think if the investors want to do switching, must ensure the amount that they switch is more than the transaction cost, if not the profit will all belong to the mutual fund company. Other than avoid the timing risk, investors also need to avoid the transaction cost of swtiching. Therefore, before investing in unit trust, investors must look for a good consultant or agent that provide the timing switching skills.

    • […] investment gain without paying double service fees. As mentioned in my previous article about the secret of unit trust investment, switching need to be done from time to time and integrated into your portfolio rebalancing […]

    • […] get decent return from unit trust investment, you can refer my articles about:The secret of unit trust investmentAsset allocation Portfolio […]

    • kclau

      Hi Relax,

      You are right. Switching should be integrated into portfolio rebalancing. It will avoid the timing risk.

    • Relax

      the 2nd and 3rd points sounds a bit overlapped, and also a bit contradicting to each other.
      Maybe it would be helpful if you write about their difference and similiarities in another article.

      I think these rules are quite helpful but switching too much will sway away from original portfolio and investment goals, don’t you think so?

    • […] Asset Allocator Related article about unit trust: Bottom Up Approach in Unit Trust Investment Malaysia Top-Down Approach in Unit Trust Investment The secret of investing in Unit Trust […]

    • […] The secret of investing in Unit Trust […]

    • […] The secret of investing in Unit Trust […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.