KUALA LUMPUR: BIMB Investment Management Bhd (BIMB Investment), a subsidiary of Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd
(Bank Islam), has launched the BIMB Opportunities Fund (BOF), a Shariah-compliant fund targeting small-cap stocks, with a target fund size of RM50 million this year.
Bank Islam Group chief business officer for institutional banking, Sharifah Sarah Syed Mohamed Tahir, said the fund aims to deliver annual returns of between eight per cent and 10 per cent, subject to market conditions.
"We are very excited about the new fund. We are being very strategic in our stock selection, targeting small-cap stocks on Bursa Malaysia. For the small companies that we invest in, firstly, it opens up the idea that they need to remain Shariah-compliant because there is demand within the Shariah-compliant space.
"InshaAllah, our target fund size for the year is about RM50 million, and if we look at the Malaysian economy, particularly in the first quarter of the year, growth has been driven by small- and mid-cap companies," she told reporters after the fund’s launch ceremony here today.
Sharifah Sarah said the company is predominantly targeting retail investors and hopes that more than 70 per cent of the fund’s investors will be from the retail segment.
BIMB Investment chief executive officer Amran Zaki Mohd Nasir said the benefit of investing in small-cap stocks is that some of them are undiscovered gems.
"For example, Inari Amertron Bhd started as a small information technology services company, but it has now grown into a larger company. Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd is another example. Today, it is a component of the FBM KLCI.
"What we are trying to do is unearth gems within the small-cap universe. Once we invest in them and they grow, they can become larger companies and potentially become part of the FBM KLCI constituents," he added.
Also present at the launch event were BIMB Investment chairman Datin Maznah Mahbob; Bank Islam Group chief business officer, retail banking, Mizan Masram; and BIMB Investment head of equity Nazifah Mohd Arshad.
In a statement, Bank Islam said the BOF is offered in ringgit denomination, with a minimum initial investment of RM500 and subsequent investments starting from RM200, making it accessible to a wide pool of investors.
The open-ended fund allows investors to participate at any time.
To date, BIMB Investment manages 17 investment funds, in addition to private mandates, including seven Shariah-compliant Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) funds, with total assets under management of approximately RM1.7 billion as at April 30, 2026. - Bernama
