Morningstar Malaysia Fund Awards 2012 has come to a successful end. The results were announced on 19 March 2012. The Morningstar Malaysia Fund Awards 2012 recognize retail funds and fund groups that added the most value for investors within the context of their relevant peer group in 2011 and over the longer term. Winners are selected using a quantitative methodology with a qualitative overlay developed by Morningstar that considers the one- and three-year performance history of all eligible funds, and adjusts returns for risk using Morningstar Risk, a measure that imposes a higher penalty for downside variation in a fund’s return than it does for upside volatility.
Ms. Cynthia Case, Vice President of Sales for Morningstar Asia, said, “It has been 10 years since we brought Morningstar Awards to Asia. ‘Investors First’ remains one of our core values, and we have emphasized quality over quantity by selecting just seven category winners this year”.
Mr. Sunny Ng, Director of Asia Fund Research for Morningstar Asia, shared his views on the fund industry in Asia, and in particular discussed fund ownership levels in the region. “While the wealth of individuals in Asia continues to grow at a record pace, fund ownership in most Asian countries remains well below 10%. This is significantly lower than their Western counterparts, especially the United States where it is nearly 50%”. He noted that, “There are three major barriers to fund ownership growth in the region: short-term performance orientation, high distribution/management fees and misalignment of interests between investors and asset managers”.
To unlock the growth of Asia’s fund management industry, Ng proposes that potential catalysts could be investor education and responsible product development. At the moment, much of the focus in terms of product development in Asia is on trendy short-term funds that are easy to sell. These products often charge higher management and up-front fees (as distributors and asset managers have shorter time periods to break even) and are often the best performers of yesteryear. Products that chase past performance can create poor investment outcomes for investors, which ultimately leads to rapid redemptions. More responsible product development coupled with proper investor education could help break the cycle and encourage a prosperous and stable funds industry in the region.
The winners of the Morningstar Malaysia Fund Awards 2012 are:
FUND CATEGORY | FUND WINNER |
Asia-Pacific Equity | Hwang Asia Quantum Fund |
Islamic Malaysia Equity | Public Islamic Dividend Fund |
Islamic MYR Allocation | Eastspring Investments Dana Dinamik |
Islamic MYR Bond | PB Islamic Bond Fund |
MYR Allocation | Hwang Select Balanced Fund |
MYR Bond | KAF Bond Fund |
Malaysia Equity | Kenanga Growth Fund |
For more information about the awards and the methodology, please click here.
