KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has seen an increase in assets under management (AUM) to RM347 billion so far this year, up from RM337 billion in 2023.
The total number of accounts grew 3.2 per cent to 16.2 million, with Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) attracting over 400,000 new unique holders, solidifying its position as the investment of choice for more than 13 million Malaysians.
PNB also witnessed market-leading performance by ASNB's variable price funds.
"As of the end of November 2024, based on rolling one-year total returns, all ASNB variable price funds outperformed their respective benchmarks and are placed in the top two quartiles amongst their peers in their respective segments," it said.
The fund manager highlighted that the six ASNB equity funds achieved a rolling one-year total return of 15-33 per cent as of Nov 30 this year.
Its oldest funds, Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) and ASN Equity Malaysia, recorded rolling one-year returns of 23.4 per cent and 33.2 per cent respectively.
PNB, in its statement, also noted that encouraging Malaysians to save remains a significant challenge.
Findings from the RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey (RMFLS) indicate that over 40 per cent of Malaysian adults have yet to begin financial planning for retirement.
Additionally, data from Bank Negara Malaysia shows that voluntary savings, excluding the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions, have grown by less than five per cent over the past five years.
To address the challenge, PNB has made growing the savings of its customers as its focus under its new Strategic Plan, LEAP 6.
"The strategic plan outlined an ambitious target to grow PNB's AUM to RM400 billion by 2027 through the execution of transformation across six key pillars covering Sales & Distribution, Investment, PNB Co Transformation, Knowledge, Innovation, and Sustainability," it said.
President and group chief executive Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said it will step up efforts to boost the savings by Malaysians.
The country's largest fund manager will encourage the public to save more and grow their savings by ransforming its sales and distribution model and aggressively promoting savings to all Malaysians.
"We will elevate our efforts on financial literacy by providing educational programmes and resources to empower Malaysians with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions.
"We will also intensify our marketing initiatives to underscore the importance of cultivating a consistent savings habit for unitholders' long-term financial security," he added.
Abdul Rahman said an immediate action will be activating several campaigns to promote recurring savings by Malaysians through Auto Labur feature in ASNB app, which lets investors invest regularly and automatically with as little as RM10 per month," he added.
PNB said ASNB will launch its "#SimpanJe & Tambah" and "#SimpanJe & Menang" campaigns beginning January 2025.
It will reward unitholders who retain and top up their savings during the first quarter of the year.
For instance, for the "#SimpanJe & Tambah" campaign, unitholders with a certain minimum holding balance and undertake a top-up of up to RM3,000 will receive an additional reward of up to 1.5 per cent annualised return.
Those who participate in the "#SimpanJe & Menang" campaign can stand to win prizes such as umrah or travel to Europe package, smartphones and attractive vouchers.