Saturna ASEAN Equity Fund

Overview

BRIEF INFORMATION ON THE FUND

ISIN Code: MYU9200AA005

Bloomberg Ticker: SSBWAEF MK

Type of Product: Unit Trust Fund

Fund Category: Shariah-compliant Equity

Fund Type: Growth

Manager: Saturna Sdn Bhd

Launch Date: 25 January 2017

PRODUCT SUITABILITY

The Fund is suitable for investors who:

  • Are looking for an ASEAN Shariah-compliant equity portfolio;
  • Are looking for capital gains of the units;
  • Are looking for diversification and exposure to the ASEAN equity markets;
  • Have a long-term investment outlook.

KEY FEATURES OF THE PRODUCT

What are you investing in?

Saturna ASEAN Equity Fund is a Shariah equity fund issued and managed by issued and managed by Saturna Sdn Bhd that seeks to provide long term capital growth by investing in Shariah compliant equity securities with exposure to ASEAN markets.

Investment ObjectiveThe Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth.
Investment Style & Strategy

The Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of Shariah-compliant equities across the ASEAN region.

The Fund follows a value-oriented investment style, favouring companies with potential for earnings growth. The Manager analyses economic growth rates, interest rates, inflation, currencies, and government policies. Stock selection criteria include improving fundamentals and solid growth potential at reasonable valuations.

Generally, the Fund invests for the long term, with annual portfolio turnover not expected to exceed 30%.

Sustainable Investing

The Manager considers issuers with Sustainable characteristics to be issuers that generally have larger market capitalization, are consistently profitable, financially strong and with low exposure to risks in the areas of the environment, social responsibility and corporate governance (“ESG”). The Manager employs ESG rating to identify issuers that present low ESG risks. The main characteristics of the Sustainable rating are:

Environmental:

  • Resource Efficiency (energy, water, inputs, waste productivity)
  • Disclosures and Transparency

Social:

  • Business Ethics and Products
  • Stakeholder Relations (employees, investors, community)

Governance:

  • Board Effectiveness
  • Conflicts assessments, including compensation

Balance Sheet and Business Experience:

As a qualified SRI fund, the ESG methodology is integrated into the investments of the Fund. This includes the screening, selection, monitoring and realisation of the Fund’s investments.

Asset Allocation

The asset allocation of the Fund is as follows:

  • At least 70% of the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") in Shariah-compliant equities in ASEAN countries.
  • Up to 30% of the Fund's NAV in liquid assets including money market instruments and deposits with Islamic financial institutions.
Benchmark6% Absolute Return
Base CurrencyRinggit Malaysia (MYR)
Financial Year31 December
Launch Date25 January 2017
Income Distribution PolicySubject to availability of income, distribution will be made on a yearly basis.

SHARIAH-COMPLIANT INVESTMENT

The Shariah Adviser monitors the operations and investments of the Fund in accordance with the Shariah investment guidelines. Shariah investing requires that companies that do not comply with Shariah law are not considered for purchase. Securities of companies that fail to pass a series of financial ratio filters are also excluded from consideration. The Fund does not invest in debt instruments nor investments that might be considered as speculative, such as derivatives. Any income or distribution received by the Fund from investments in its portfolio which relates to income from Shariah noncompliant investments are considered as impure income. This impure income is subject to an income purification process.

Note: Should you require further information, please refer to the Prospectus under "Shariah Investment Guidelines".

PARTIES INVOLVED

With whom are you investing?

Who are the parties involved?

  • The Manager of the Fund is Saturna Sdn Bhd
  • The Trustee of the Fund is SCBMB Trustee Berhad
  • The Trustee's delegate for the custodian of the assets of the Fund is Standard Chartered Bank (Malaysia) Berhad
  • The Shariah Adviser of the Fund is Amanie Advisors Sdn Bhd
  • The auditor for the Fund is Crowe Horwath
  • The taxation advisor for the Fund is Crowe Horwath KL Tax

POSSIBLE OUTCOMES

What are the possible outcomes of investing in the Fund?

The value per unit of the Fund rises and falls as the value of the equities in which the Fund invests goes up and down. Under normal circumstances, the Fund Manager aims to outperform the Fund's benchmark, 6% Absolute Return. However, the Fund may post a lower return or even incur losses if one or more of the key risks occur. In the worst scenario where all the investments of the Fund are in default or suspended, investors may lose part or even all of their initial investments.

PURCHASE OF UNITS

You may submit an application to purchase units of the Fund on any business day subject to the minimum initial investment and minimum additional investment amount of the Fund.

Minimum initial investment

MYR2,000

Note: The Manager may in its own discretion accept such other lower amount for the minimum initial investment.

Minimum additional investment

MYR200

Note: The Manager may in its own discretion accept such other lower amount for the minimum additional investment.

Purchase request submissionCut off time before 4:00 p.m. on a business day

Note: For first-time investors, purchases of the Fund are subject to anti-money laundering procedures and may involve several requirements. Please refer to the Prospectus under "Additional Information" for further information.

REDEMPTION OF UNITS

You may request for redemption from the Fund Manager on any business day.

Minimum redemption unitNo minimum redemption amount
Minimum holdingsNo minimum holdings for Units
Redemption request submissionCutoff time before 4:00 p.m. on a business day
Payment of redemption proceedsWithin 3 business days of receiving a complete redemption request form

TRANSFER AND SWITCHING FACILITY

Transfer facilityThe minimum transfer amount is 1,000 Units. No fee is imposed for any transfer.
Switching facilitySwitching is not available for this Fund.

Performance

Short Term Performance

As of January 31, 2024 Ticker 3 Month 6 Month YTD
Saturna ASEAN Equity Fund SSBWAEF 2.94% 0.80% -0.50%
6% Absolute Return 1.50% 3.00% 0.50%

Average Annual Total Returns

Month-end, as of January 31, 2024 Ticker 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Expense Ratio² 30-Day Yield¹
Saturna ASEAN Equity Fund SSBWAEF 1.02% 1.17% 2.30% n/a 0.00% 0.00%
6% Absolute Return 6.00% 6.00% 6.00% 6.00% n/a n/a
Quarter-end, as of December 31, 2023 Ticker 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Expense Ratio² 30-Day Yield¹
Saturna ASEAN Equity Fund SSBWAEF 4.00% 1.31% 3.62% n/a 0.00% 0.00%
6% Absolute Return 6.00% 6.00% 6.00% 6.00% n/a n/a

Holdings

As of Jan 31, 2024

Top Ten Holdings

Name Percent of Total
KPJ Healthcare 4.7%
UMS Holdings 4.4%
Delfi LTD 4.2%
Manila Electric 3.9%
SATS Ltd 3.7%
ComfortDelGro Corp. Ltd. 3.6%
Chularat Hospital PCL 3.6%
Venture Corp. Ltd. 3.5%
TIME dotCom Bhd 3.4%
Wilcon Depot 3.2%
Total 38.3%

Security and sector weightings are shown as a percentage of total net assets

Sector Allocation

Sector
Communications 18.4%
Health Care 17.1%
Consumer Staples 14.2%
Consumer Discretionary 12.4%
Technology 11.4%
Financials 10.4%
Industrials 9.2%
Utilities 3.9%
Cash & Equivalents 2.9%
Communications Health Care Consumer Staples Consumer Discretionary Technology Financials Industrials Utilities Cash & Equivalents

Distributions

Final Distribution

Gross distribution / unit0.020
Net distribution / unit0.020
Date of distribution27 December 2023

 

FEES & CHARGES

What are the fees, charges, and expenses involved?

The Fund seeks to minimize the expenses of investors. There is no sales charge, redemption charge, or transfer fee payable by an investor.

Administration Fee0.25% per annum of the NAV of the Fund
Distribution Fee0.25% per annum of the NAV of the Fund
Performance Fee10% of the gross asset value that cumulatively increases or decreases, excluding subscriptions and redemptions, for each day in the financial year
Trustee Fee0.05% per annum of the NAV of the Fund (excluding foreign sub-custodian fees and charges)
Sales ChargeNone
Redemption ChargeNone
Transfer FeeNone
Switching FeeNot applicable as switching is not available for this Fund

Literature

Historic Fact Sheets

Show historical fact sheets

Disclaimer:

Any information that falls outside this designated area does not form part of the e-prospectus and unit trusts are offered solely on the basis of the information contained in the e-prospectus. This unit trust fund is made available only to customers and prospective customers in Malaysia. A printed prospectus and application form are also available at our office and all authorized distributors.

Note: The free Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher is required to open, view, and input data into PDF files.

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Printed versions of the Fund's Annual Report and Interim Report are available by contacting:

KEY RISKS

What are the general risks related to the Fund?

Market RiskMarket risk refers to the possibility that an investment will lose value because of a general decline in financial markets, due to economic, political and/or other factors, which will result in a decline in the Fund's Net Asset Value.
Noncompliance RiskThe Fund, the Manager and/or the Trustee may not comply with the provisions set out in the Deed or the law that governs the Fund. The Fund, the Manager and/or Trustee may not comply with operating procedures whether by oversight or by omission, or the Manager may act fraudulently or dishonestly. Such noncompliance may force the Manager to sell down securities of the Fund at a loss to rectify the noncompliance and in turn may adversely affect the Unit Holders' investment. To mitigate this risk, the Manager has put in place internal controls to ensure its continuous compliance with laws, rules and regulations, prescribed practices, and the Manager's internal policies and procedures.
Performance RiskA failure of the Manager to display the requisite experience and expertise in making investment decisions for the Fund may jeopardize the Fund's performance. There is no guarantee the Fund will meet its investment objective of long-term capital growth. Investors should be aware that no guarantee is given that they will receive returns on their investments, or that investors will get back their initial amount invested in full. In order to mitigate this risk, the implementation of internal controls and a structured investment process and operational procedures have been put in place by the Manager.
Operational RiskOperational risk includes risks that arise from the internal process of the organisation. These may result from inadequacies or failure in processes, controls, or projects due to fraud, unauthorised activities, error, omission, inefficiency, systems failure, or from external events. Operational risk may affect the Unitholder's investment negatively.
Equity Securities RiskShariah-compliant equity securities may experience significant volatility in response to economic or market conditions or adverse events that affect a particular industry, sector, or company. The value of particular Shariah-compliant equity securities may also fluctuate in response to activities of individual companies. This risk can adversely affect the prices of equities, which would negatively impact the performance of the Fund.
Country RiskInvestments of the Fund in any countries may be affected by changes in the economic and political climate, restriction on currency repatriation, or other developments in the law or regulations of the countries in which the Fund invests.
Currency RiskAs the investments of the Fund may be denominated in currencies other than the base currency, any fluctuation in the exchange rate between the base currency and the currencies in which the investments are denominated may have an impact on the value of these investments.
Price Level Risk

Inflation may erode the value of long-term contracts entered into by companies and may adversely affect companies that cannot raise prices at the same pace their costs increase. If companies' profitability decreases, the value of their equity shares will go down, thus affecting the value of Unitholders' money invested in the Fund and the value of any returns thereof negatively; the opposite is true as well.

Deflation, being the decrease in the general price level of goods and services, may increase the relative value of debt and cash. Economies in recession have higher risk of deflation, which can encourage the hoarding of cash and deepen the recession. For example, during a downturn in the market, companies become more conservative with their cash and do not spend on capital expenditures, increase of staff, etc. (cash hoarding). This action can result in a more drawn out recession (deepening); as companies spend less on capital expenditure, other companies' sales go down and the value of equities of the companies go down as well, thus affecting the Fund negatively.

Concentration RiskInvestors should be aware of the Fund's possible concentration in a particular sector when investing in this Fund. Should the Fund's investments be concentrated in a sector that underperforms the general market, it could cause the Fund's overall results to suffer more than if the Fund was exposed to a less concentrated portfolio. The Fund may therefore be subject to a higher level of risk than a more diversified portfolio.
Active Investment RiskThe Fund's active investment strategy means the number and weights of holdings in the Fund's portfolio may deviate significantly from the components of the benchmark, which may result in the Fund's performance failing.
Reclassification of Shariah Status RiskThis risk refers to the risk that the currently held Shariah-compliant equities in the Fund may be reclassified as Shariah-noncompliant. The value of the Fund may be adversely affected when the Manager disposes of portfolio investments in unfavourable market conditions.

The above list of risks should not be considered as exhaustive list. While every care will be taken by the Manager to mitigate the risk, Investors should be aware that investments in the Fund may be exposed to other risks of an exceptional nature from time to time. Please refer to the Prospectus under "Risk Factors" for further details on risk.

This webpage only highlights the key features and risks of the Fund. Investors are advised to request, read and understand the Prospectus of the Fund before deciding to invest.

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