KUALA LUMPUR: Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB), today announced a total income distribution of five sen per unit for its flagship ASB fund for the financial year ending December 31, 2021 (FY21).
The total income distribution comprised an income distribution of 4.25 sen per unit and a bonus of 0.75 sen per unit.
ASNB is Permodalan Nasional Bhd's (PNB) wholly-owned unit trust management company.
The total income distribution amounts to RM8.9 billion and will benefit 10.4 million ASB unitholders.
This brings the fund's total cumulative income distribution and bonus to RM168.5 billion since it was first introduced in 1990.
PNB group chairman Tun Arifin Zakaria said the stronger performance of our global equity investments has managed to cushion the impact of the challenging domestic market.
"We are pleased to see that our continuous efforts in diversifying and strengthening the portfolio have yielded positive results.
"This exemplifies the importance of a well-diversified portfolio in managing portfolio risks and delivering sustainable returns," he said during the announcement today.
Arifin said ASB's allocation in international investments increased from 5.9 per cent in 2020 to 8.2 per cent this year.
International public equities contributed 30.7 per cent share to gross income in 2021 as compared to 24.2 per cent last year.
PNB president and group chief executive Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said ASB's number of accounts increased by almost 200,000 to 10.4 million accounts, whilst units in circulation rose by 7.4 billion or 4.3 per cent to 181.2 billion units.
"Despite the challenging environment, we are encouraged to see the growing number of Malaysians investing with us, as well as the increase in their size of investments.
"We are honoured by the continued and sustained trust by our unitholders and will strive to uphold PNB's mandate in delivering sustainable returns," he said.
PNB said it has demonstrated its resilience in navigating the uncertainties of 2021, posting a commendable financial performance.
For the first 11 months of the year, PNB's total assets under management (AUM) increased by 4.9 per cent to RM338.4 billion, reflecting the continued trust by its unitholders.
Strengthening on its Focus 4 strategy, this year PNB said it made significant progress in three focus areas namely creating value in the performance of its domestic portfolio, continuing its diversification efforts into global markets through multiple asset classes, and accelerating its digital offerings.