KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has released a revised list of 189 funds approved and qualified for investment by members, which takes effect on April 1, 2024.
Under the EPF Member Investment Scheme, members are given the option to invest up to 30 per cent of the amount in excess of their EPF Account 1 savings. with FMIs.
This includes investing with Unit Trust Management Companies and Private Mandate Companies, depending on their eligibility based on the basic savings quantum.
Based on the annual evaluation as at December 31, 2023 position, EPF said 189 funds met the minimum qualifying criteria are qualified to be offered to EPF members for 2024/2025 offering period.
Of the qualified funds, equity funds make up 107 (56.6 per cent); 50 are mixed asset funds, 14 are bond funds and 18 money market funds.
The funds approved under the EPF MIS are evaluated annually based on EPF's established criteria approved by the Ministry of Finance.
It said the two qualifying criteria for funds evaluation includes the consistency of performance and its relative performance against benchmark.
"The qualifying threshold set for these criteria are reviewed from time to time in order to ensure only funds with the highest quality are listed," it added.
EPF chief investment officer Rohaya Mohammad Yusof said the EPF MIS scheme enables qualified members to diversify a portion of their EPF Account 1 fund into qualified unit trust funds offered for investments in local and global markets to enhance their retirement savings.
"The list includes Sustainable and Responsible Investment-based (SRI) unit trust funds to play a role in driving sustainable investment agenda at the EPF as we empower members to make informed investment decisions through a wide range of funds," she said.
Rohaya added that since the launch of the i-Invest platform in 2019, around RM2.5 billion has been transacted as at December 2023.
The EPF recently made enhancements to the i-invest platform, allowing members to transact approved private mandate portfolios, in addition to qualified unit trust funds offered currently.
Initial sales charge payable by members to FMIs is capped at 0.5 per cent per buy transaction.