PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is signalling that members should tone down their expectations for the final quarter of 2025, even after posting one of its strongest nine-month investment incomes in recent years.
The RM1.37 trillion fund said it was actively managing risks by accelerating the locking-in of profits “at a pace that may be hard to match in the fourth quarter”.
At this point, public expectations are high for the EPF to deliver a stronger dividend rate, following last year’s 6.3% return – the highest in seven years.
In a statement yesterday, the EPF reported RM63.99bil in investment income for the first nine months of 2025 (9M25), an 11% rise year-on-year (y-o-y).
Investment income for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2025 (3Q25) jumped 27% y-o-y to RM25.07bil.
Of the RM25.07bil, about 53% or RM13.33bil came from international investments. The remaining RM11.47bil income was generated from domestic investments.
For comparison, in 3Q24, international investments generated RM10.5bil while domestic assets made about RM9.17bil in investment income.
EPF chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said the 11% growth in total investment income in 9M25, alongside 12% growth in asset under management, was a result of execution of the fund’s strategic asset allocation.
This has allowed the EPF to participate in the recovery of equity markets “post-Liberation Day”, he said.
“While the nine-month performance has been encouraging, we are cautious heading into the fourth quarter.
“The rally in global equity markets has elevated valuations, while mixed signals from global economic indicators may temper the pace of interest rate reductions.
“The EPF is actively managing these risks by accelerating the locking-in of profits at a pace that may be hard to match in the fourth quarter,” he added.
Equities remained the primary engine of third-quarter performance, contributing RM16.95bil, or 68% of total income.
Although slightly below the RM18.35bil recorded in 3Q24, it marked a clear recovery from the softer performances in the first two quarters of 2025.
The rally in global equity markets during the period allowed EPF fund managers to seize opportunities and lock in gains.
Fixed income contributed RM6.75bil, or 27% of third-quarter income.
This asset class, which includes Malaysian Government Securities and equivalents together with loans and bonds, delivered a steady income stream and helped cushion short-term market volatility, supporting overall portfolio stability.
Meanwhile, real estate and infrastructure contributed RM1.14bil (4%), while money market instruments recorded gains of RM230mil (1%).
Of the total investment income for 3Q25, RM20.48bil was generated for Simpanan Konvensional and RM4.59bil for Simpanan Shariah.
As of Sept 30, total investment assets stood at RM1.37 trillion, representing a 12% y-o-y growth.
The EPF said international investments accounted for approximately 39% of total assets, supported by resilient global equity market valuations.
During the quarter, international investments generated RM13.33bil, representing 53% of the total investment income.
Separately, the EPF said Malaysia’s labour market is expected to be resilient in the final quarter, underpinned by Budget 2026 measures, macroeconomic stability and both domestic and foreign direct investments.
It noted that the country’s unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage points to 3% in September 2025 as compared to a year earlier.
In line with this, the EPF registered 427,329 new members during 9M25, raising total membership to over 16.5 million.
Of these, 9.07 million are active members, representing 51.7% of the 17.54 million labour force as of September 2025.
The EPF’s active-to-inactive member ratio remained stable at 55:45 in 9M25.
New employer registrations reached 62,401, increasing total active employers registered with the EPF to 628,321 as at September 2025.
On a quarterly basis, total contributions increased by 10.5% to RM27.84bil.
Voluntary contributions increased by 47.5% to RM15.3bil in 9M25.
For the nine months, the number of formal sector members contributing above statutory rates through i-Topup (formerly known as Voluntary Excess) was 231,034, compared to 172,829 in the same period last year.
