AmInvestment Group Bhd is launching a property fund, AmAsia-Pacific Property Equities (APPE) which according to a report in The Star on 28 July 2006, is targeted to achieve “double digit” returns in the next 12 months.
This is the second property fund from AmInvestment following the successful launch of their AmGlobal Property Equities last October. The latter fund’s size had surpassed RM300 million, returning 13.06% over the past six months, according to a separate report by the EdgeDaily.
The new fund would invest 95% of its net asset value in the Luxemborg-based Henderson Horizon Asia-Pacific Property Equities Fund (HHAPPEF), and is said to be suitable for investors seeking exposure to commercial property companies and real estate investment trusts (REIT) in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
It has an approved size of 150 million units at RM1 each, with a minimum investment of RM1,000.
Henderson Global Investors which manages HHAPPEF, the underlying fund is a well-known and long established independent global asset management reported to have US$116bn of assets under its management.
Interested investors can purchase the funds from AmBank’s branches and agents, as well as approved institutional unit trust agents such as Citibank, UOB Bank and CIMB Private Banking.
Tips on how to manage your money 
Another interesting development for the property securities industry in Malaysia, but sadly the properties are overseas. With the increasing number of REITs in the market, hopefully there will be opportunities to invest in a portfolio of Malaysia REITs with decent properties in the local market.
Too true – most of locally launched REITs have not really performed to expectations. I believe it has to do with the not so favourable tax concessions as compared to other countries like Singapore and HK. Also, perhaps the REITs themselves need to step up to global standards with a wider range of decent properties as you said. Many people still see the existing bunch of REITs in Malaysia as a way for the original owner to lock-in the capital gains for themselves, with little added value being passed to the REIT fund-holders.
The tax is certainly an issue too … countries like Australia and US have free flow through of distributions for REIT vehicles. Interestingly I believe KLCC is not even considered a REIT?
How do you rate this fund?
Nicol, a good question. The Malaysian feeder fund was just launched in Malaysia on July 18 2006 so no performance info given yet. The underlying fund managed by Henderson is also less than a year old. I checked Morningstar website and the Henderson fund’s returns are as follows: YTD 1.95%, Q106 10.5%, Q206 -9.81%. It’s ranked quite low in its category of funds, in terms of returns. I will write something more about global property funds in a new post soon hopefully 🙂
P.S Watch out for the fees – there will be two sets of everything since this is a feeder fund. Unfortunately local UT companies have not been all that transparent on this – sometimes agents themselves probably don’t even know!
hey there, first time i’m visiting this website and i find it very helpful for newbies like myself..
just a note, a few feeder funds out there does not charge two sets of fees.. the local fund managers will charge one set of fees, and it will be shared with the target fund’s manager.. looking at this fund’s prospectus, it clearly says there is no double charging of fees (jul06 print, pg 35)
interesting way of tapping into global funds with great track records, however i wish msian fund managers can reach those standards one day..
Hi CS – Thanks for highlighting the fees issue. That’s good news indeed. Hopefully it will become standard policy for all feeder funds in future.
hi emily, i’ve read your view on Bric funds and i’ve enjoy it. congratulations.
now, bric funds is rising since 2003. what do you expect for 2007. the economy is rising, but as someone said, the Brazil and Russia are very instable markets, india i don’t realy have an idea and China i think is garantee that improves. so, am i to late for investe and have a good return, or shoud i go other way?
hi joao, I did read that Brazil and Russia have not been performing well as compared to India and China. Honestly speaking I’m not sure how the outlook is like for these BRIC funds since the two non-performing countries might erode the gains from the two performing ones. I personally would buy into a more diversified fund like a regional fund or a global fund. My 2 cents.
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