EPF'S income up 13% to RM10.4bil

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) recorded a 13.47% surge in investment income to RM10.4bil for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014 compared with RM9.16bil last year. 

Its chief executive officer, Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said on Tuesday the improved global and the emerging markets investment climate had facilitated EPF in carrying out investment and profit taking activities, 

"We are able to maintain the previous quarter's momentum on the back of a stable and encouraging Malaysian economy," he said in a statement.
 
The EPF would continue to diversify into alternative investments, namely real assets, comprising both real estates and infrastructures, amid the rising trend in inflation. 

During the period, investments in real estates and infrastructure represented RM14.92bil or 2.44% of the total EPF investment assets.

Shahril Ridza said both domestic and international equities generated investment returns of RM6.49bil, up 16.06% or RM898.5mil, compared with the corresponding period in 2013. 

Loans and bonds were the second largest contributors to investment income, generating RM1.85bil in returns. 

Malaysian government securities and equivalents generated an income of RM1.74bil, registering an increase of 13.77%. 

Real estate and infrastructure posted an income of RM184.12mil compared with RM296.2mil in the second quarter of 2013 while money market instruments contributed RM107.32mil in investment income. 

EPF's Investment assets registered a growth of RM58.49bil from RM553.92bil in the second quarter of 2013 to RM612.41bil. 

Shahril Ridza said the EPF injected RM3.4bil to external fund managers, of which US$350mil was channelled into global equity mandates and US$30mil into global sukuk mandates. 

For the domestic mandates, RM800mil was injected into domestic bonds and RM500mil into equities. 

To date, the EPF exposures managed by external fund managers stood at 12.77% across equity and fixed income instruments for both domestic and global mandates.