KUALA LUMPUR, 28 February 2019: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has published its Annual Qualifying List of Fund Management Institutions (FMIs) and unit trust funds under the EPF Members Investment Scheme (EPF MIS) effective 1 March 2019 until 29 February 2020.

For the 2019/2020 period, a total of 382 funds were approved under the EPF MIS, nonetheless only 282 funds, including 9 new funds, from 19 FMIs qualified for offering. This is a marginal increase of 0.7 per cent from the same period last year.

EPF Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Investment) Dato’ Mohamad Nasir Ab Latif said, “The list of unit trust funds offered under the EPF MIS is evaluated annually based on criteria established by the EPF and approved by the Ministry of Finance Malaysia.

“Any unit trust fund which falls below the minimum eligibility score will be suspended from offering during the period.”

Table 1: The List of Funds and FMIs by Category

The minimum eligibility score of Simple Average Rating for Consistent Returns (SACR) is maintained at 2.33 rating for three consecutive years. 26 per cent of approved funds which fell short of the rating have been suspended from offering this year.

The EPF MIS was introduced as an option for members to invest a portion of their EPF Account 1 savings in unit trust funds or via private mandates managed by the appointed FMIs. Based on their respective age (Refer to Table 2), members may transfer from their EPF Account 1 up to 30 per cent of the amount in excess of Basic Savings to be invested in the qualified funds.

Dato’ Mohamad Nasir said, “With the revision in the quantum of Basic Savings from RM228,000 to RM240,000 at Age 55 effective 1 January 2019, members will now accordingly be required to have higher savings in their EPF account in order to be eligible to participate in the EPF MIS.” The new quantum is benchmarked against the minimum pension for public sector employees, which has been raised from RM950 to RM1,000 per month.

Furthermore, he adds, the EPF is currently developing an electronic Members Investment Scheme Platform (e-MIS) which will enable members to transact online at reduced cost. This facility is expected to provide greater flexibility, functionality and convenience for members to invest in unit trusts.

The online facility, which is set to be introduced by the end of this year, will also provide better access and visibility of available funds, prices and performance within the MIS scheme so that they can compare and make informed investment decisions that suit their respective needs and risk appetite.

Members are reminded that investments via the EPF MIS are on voluntary basis and members will assume full responsibility over their decisions to participate in the scheme.

“Even though the EPF has approved these unit trust funds, it does not imply that we are making any recommendations or suggestions for members on any of the unit trust funds. We strongly encourage members to seek advice from qualified financial advisers before deciding to participate in the scheme,” adds Dato’ Mohamad Nasir.

The EPF has issued guidelines to be complied by FMIs as a measure to safeguard the integrity of the scheme and the interest of participating members, as well as to ensure the FMIs to carry out their duties diligently and responsibly. In addition, an independent auditor has been appointed by the EPF to carry out annual audit on the FMIs. The EPF may issue warnings, fines, suspension or even revocation of appointment should any of the FMIs fail to comply with the instructions or guidelines issued.

For the full list of funds offered under each appointed FMI, members may refer to the
myEPF website at https://www.kwsp.gov.my/member/savings/i-invest.

Table 2: The New Basic Savings Schedule According to Age