KUALA LUMPUR: Eligible Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributers can now make informed investment in unit trust funds offered by EPF-approved Fund Management Institutions (FMIs).
This can be done through the self-service i-Invest online platform within the i-Akaun (Member) portal.
For members below 55 years old, investment can be funded directly from the eligible portion of members’ savings under Account 1 with a sales charge ranging from zero to 0.5 per cent of the transaction amount.
“We are very excited about introducing i-Invest, as this digitally powered facility empowers our members to take control of their investments and make transactions at nearly zero cost.
“To ensure they are as informed as possible, i-Invest contains tools to obtain and compare relevant information, and enables the right selection of unit trust funds that best suit our members’ savings goals.
“We are also proud as we believe the EPF is the first in the world to directly link members’ retirement funds to online investment services,” said EPF Chief Executive Officer Tunku Alizakri Alias.
He said i-Invest provides greater flexibility, functionality and convenience for members to invest, transact and monitor their unit trusts investment anytime and anywhere.
He said that it also enables members to compare different unit trust funds offered by the FMIs, monitor their investment funds through their i-Akaun, and look up information on cost of investment, historical performance, as well as required statutory information.
Tunku Alizakri said a key element of the online investment facility was that sales charges were now practically free, as the EPF has enforced a maximum cap of 0.5 per cent compared to the current 3 per cent for offline and traditional transactions through agents.
He advised members interested in utilising i-Invest to continue to exercise caution when making any investment decision and encouraged them to arm themselves with the right information or seek professional advice before committing to any transactions.
“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.
“Members can also open an account to invest in unit trust funds with any FMI through this new facility,” he said.
He said members aged 55 and above can utilise i-Invest using Akaun 55 or Akaun Emas through i-Akaun as a mode of withdrawal, subject to maintaining a minimum of RM1,000 in their account.
The EPF has strict guidelines for FMIs to comply with in order to safeguard the integrity of the scheme and the interest of participating members, as well as to ensure that FMIs carry out their duties diligently and responsibly, he added.
Tunku Alizakri said for the period of 2019/2020, a total of 389 funds from various categories, namely equity, mixed assets, bond, money market and property trusts, were approved under the EPF Members Investment Scheme.