Public Mutual Berhad's Fund Management Team, shed lights on topics such as their team structure, how various risks have affected their investment decisions, and the major portfolio changes over last year.
Category Winner: Best Asia-Pacific Equity Fund - Public Islamic Opportunities
Key Stats
Inception Date: 2005 Jun 28
Morningstar Rating (as of 2015-02-28): 
Total Net Assets (Mil, as of 2015-02-27): 248.96 USD
Manager: Ming Jang Lum, Mat Radzuan bin Abd Razak
Manager Start Date: 2011 Apr 30
M: Morningstar P: Public Mutual Berhad
M: Could you highlight any major changes you made to the portfolio over the course of 2014? Were there any particular holding that drove the fund’s performance for the year?
P: The Fund is rebalanced on an on-going basis to capitalise on potential investment opportunities. During the year, the Fund increased its investments in export-driven sectors such as glove and technology companies while rebalancing its exposure to selected stocks where valuations were no longer attractive.
M: What is your economic outlook for 2015 specific to the markets you cover and how are you positioned to take advantage of opportunities and/or mitigate potential risks?
P: The Malaysian economy is envisaged to sustain a GDP growth of 4.5%-5.5% in 2015 compared to 6.0% in 2014 as consumer spending is anticipated to moderate. However, the strengthening of the U.S. Dollar on the back of an anticipated interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve sometime in 2H2015 will result in a more competitive Ringgit and benefit Malaysia’s export-led sectors.
To provide consistent returns in the long term, the Fund will maintain its strategy of focusing on stocks which have resilient earnings and which trade at reasonable valuations.
M: Can you comment on the macro risks facing the global economy, including potential US rate hikes, QE programs in the Eurozone and Japan, and the growth headwinds facing the emerging world? How do these risks affect your investment decisions?
P: Global economic growth is projected to gain pace from 3.3% in 2014 to 3.5% in 2015. While the United States continues to recover, the performance of other major economies such as the Eurozone and Japan will depend on the ability of their governments to successfully stimulate growth via the respective Quantitative Easing measures undertaken.
We will continue to maintain our investment philosophy of emphasising on stocks with good earnings quality and look for investment opportunities amidst potential volatility in the markets in the year ahead.
M: How is your investment team organized? Have there been or do you anticipate any changes to the investment team or structure over the course of the year? Do you anticipate adding to the team in the near future?
P: We currently have a team of 19 fund managers who are supported by a team of more than 25 analysts. We will continue to ensure we have sufficient resources in place to undertake the management of our funds.
M: Can you highlight any areas where you feel that the investment team or the investment process can be improved upon?
P: We will maintain our strategy of focusing on stocks with resilient earnings and attractive dividend yields while we search for future investment opportunities in sectors and stocks that are underpinned by sound fundamentals and reasonable valuations.
