KUALA LUMPUR: Kenanga Investors Bhd’s (KIB) Kenanga Syariah Growth Fund (KSGF) won the “Malaysia Best Equity Fund over 10 Years” award at the Refinitiv Lipper Global Islamic Fund Awards 2020.
KIB executive director and CEO Ismitz Matthew De Alwis called the success testament to what the fund house has been striving to achieve, that is consistent and sustainable top performance.
“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 said in a statement.
De Alwis added that markets are likely to remain subdued in the near term, as daily additions of new Covid-19 cases outside of China continue to rise.
“The first quarter of 2020’s economic 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,” he said
He also advised 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, investors should consistently invest for retirement and other financial goals as the stock market reflects the economy, which will eventually recover from the outbreak,” he said.
History shows that if you can ride out market lows, stocks should gain in value over time and this is the time to employ the dollar-cost averaging strategy, added De Alwis.
KSGF delivered returns of 14.17% (three years), 22.14% (five years) and 147.32% (10 years) as at December 2019, consistently outperforming its benchmark to clinch the award. – April 9. 2020, Bernama
