KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) ended 2017 with gross investment income of RM53.14 billion, the highest ever since 1951, while gross return on investments standing at 7.30 per cent, 18 basis points higher than 2016.
The pension fund body also recorded strong overall performance across all asset classes within its portfolio, largely driven by investments in global equities that benefited from improved market conditions.
As at December 31, 2017, the EPF’s total investment asset was RM791.48 billion.
The equities portfolio, which makes up 42 per cent of EPF’s total investment assets, generated RM31.47 billion for the year.
Out of the RM53.14 billion gross investment income generated, more than 40 per cent of the income were contributed by the EPF’s investments in global assets, despite constituting only 28 per cent of its investment portfolio.
"Overall, it was a good year with a number of ‘firsts’ for the EPF with the most notable was the year we declared the first investment results and dividend rate for Simpanan Shariah.
"We ended the year with the highest ever gross investment income since 1951 at RM53.14 billion with a gross return on investment of 7.30 per cent, which was 18 basis points higher than in 2016,” EPF chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said in a statement today in conjunction with the release of its Annual Report 2017
Annual contributions to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) also rose 6.38 per cent to RM65.52 billion compared to the total withdrawal of RM49.4 billion in 2017, resulting in net inflow of RM16.12 billion.
EPF said there was also an 8.26 per cent increase in total investment assets to RM791.48 billion from RM731.11 billion in 2016.
He added that EPF have been making great strides in meeting members’ needs and have introduced more enhancements to its online channels.
"We are also very close to achieving a 100 per cent take-up rate of our e-Caruman portal by employers, which has proven to be an essential online facility to submit employee contribution details and make payments on time.
"We were very pleased with the 2017 performance of the EPF as a whole as not only were we able to record good dividends, we were also able to continually delight our members and help the employers in fulfilling their obligations," he said.
In terms of the financial outlook, Shahril said EPF anticipates continued market volatility and political uncertainty for the year ahead in both the domestic and global fronts.
“Nonetheless, we look upon this as an opportunity for us to maintain our financial performance and enhance investment returns over the long run.
“Last year also saw us put in place several initiatives to prepare ourselves for the future in meeting the changing demands of our members and employers as well as creating a very solid digital infrastructure.
“All these initiatives will enable us to effectively discharge our duty of safeguarding and preserving the value of our members’ savings and remain relevant to our members and employers,” he added.