Tips on how to choose unit trust funds

Salam,

A good article on unit trust investment by Ooi Kok Hwa, published in The Star Online (source)

UNIT trust funds offer an attractive alternative to retail investors, especially those looking for the benefit of diversification with a small pool of capital while enjoying the possibility of earning higher returns compared with conventional savings.

However, a lot of people have the misconception that the diversification nature of these funds means that the risk of investing in unit trust is low and they can just close their eyes and simply pick any of the funds that come along.

This misconception has led to many paying high prices in learning that as in any type of investments, investing in unit trust funds requires some basic understanding and research before we commit our hard earned money to it.

In general, we can classify the unit trust funds in the market into two major categories: income funds and growth funds.

·Income funds usually are characterised as providing consistent income to the investors. These funds invest in income-producing stocks or bonds or a combination of both. Bond funds, equity income funds and money market funds are included in this category.

·Growth funds generally are more aggressive than income funds but have the possibility of earning higher returns by focusing on the objective of long-term capital appreciation rather than income producing or short-term gain. Examples of growth funds are small-cap funds, commodity funds, index funds and gold funds.

MAA Takafulink – The Most Outstanding Takaful Product 2009

Salam,

Courtesy of haris-maa.blogspot.com

MAA Takaful Berhad won “Most Outstanding Takaful Product” for the MAA Takafulink product at the 6th KLIFF Islamic Finance Awards Ceremony 2009 held in Kuala Lumpur recently.

You deserve the best product for your takaful protection. Get one now!

UOB-OSK upbeat on Malaysian stocks

Salam,

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) is expected to move higher at between 1,350 and 1,400 points next year, says UOB-OSK Asset Management Sdn Bhd

“We believe next year the market will be rangebound in terms of the index which could be 5 to 10 per cent upside with stock picks being important,” its executive director/chief executive officer Lim Suet Ling said yesterday.

She was speaking to reporters after the launch of the OSK-UOB Unit Trust Management Bhd’s new fund, OSK-UOB Asean Fund, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

“Although the local market is still underweight in general, we are positive about it. This is also in view of the positive gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for next year,” Lim said.

Most analysts are upbeat over the country’s economic growth with a forecast of between 5 per cent to 7 per cent for 2010, on the back of a resilient domestic market, which contributed 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the GDP.

In line with the global recovery, Lim said plantation, oil and gas, banks and construction stocks would benefit from it.

“Our view of the plantation stock is positive going forward due to lower production based on the weather factor and also the government’s effort to raise the awareness of palm oil,” Lim said. – Bernama

(source: Business Times)

(It is also a positive outlook for Malaysian market in 2010, it is the right time to invest via Islamic unit trust funds on offer, contact 019-985 5546 for details)

China stocks to rally in 2010, Greenwoods says

Salam,

Written by Leslie Tan, The Edge Malaysia

SINGAPORE: Chinese shares may rise as much as 35% next year as the yuan strengthens and earnings growth accelerates, according to Greenwoods Asset Management, manager of this year’s best-performing Chinese long-short equity fund.
The gains by A shares denominated in yuan in Shanghai and Shenzhen will probably exceed a forecast increase of as much as 30% for mainland companies’ H shares traded in Hong Kong, said Greenwoods’ Hong Kong office head Joseph Zeng.
China shares will extend gains as they have yet to enter a speculative “bubble”, and now trade at about 24 times estimated earnings, below the 10-year average of 35 times, Zeng said. China will probably yield to pressure from trading partners by allowing the yuan to appreciate by between 4% and 6% by end-2010, easing imbalances that worsened the global economic crisis, he said.

Kelebihan Beramal di Bulan Zulhijjah

Salam,

Kita telahpun berada di dalam bulan Zulhijjah, bulan yang difardukan amalan Haji di dalamnya. Bulan ini merupakan bulan yang dianjurkan kita beramal sebanyak mungkin, samada bagi mereka yang menunaikan Haji ataupun tidak.

Mari kita sama-sama renung dan cuba amalkan amalan-amalan berikut sepertimana yang termaktub dalam laman web Mufti Negeri Terengganu (link)

KELEBIHAN BULAN ZULHIJJAH SEPULUH HARI PERTAMA.

Segala kepujian dan kesyukuran ditujukan kepada Allah Ta’ala, Salawat dan Salam buat Junjungan Nabi Muhammad ‘Alaihis Solatu was Salam dan buat keluarga dan Sahabat Baginda.
Imam al Bukhari Rahimahullah meriwayatkan daripada Ibnu ‘Abbas Radhia Allah ‘anhuma bahawa Baginda Nabi Salla Allah ‘alaihi wa sallam bersabda :
“Tiada suatu haripun, amalan kebaikan padanya mempunyai kelebihan melainkan pada hari-hari ini – iaitu sepuluh hari Zulhijjah-”. Para Sahabat Baginda bertanya : “Apakah juga (pengecualian itu) termasuk jihad pada jalan Allah ?” . Ujar Baginda : “Tidak juga (termasuk) berjihad pada jalan Allah kecuali bagi seorang yang keluar dengan jiwa raga dan hartanya dan tidak membawa pulang apa-apa pun”.
Imam Ahmad Rahimahullah meriwayatkan dari Ibnu ‘Umar Radhia Allah ‘anhuma bahawa Baginda Salla Allah ‘alaihi wa sallam bersabda : “Tiada suatu haripun, amalan kebaikan padanya mempunyai kelebihan melainkan pada hari-hari sepuluh Zulhijjah ini, oleh kerana itu perbanyakkanlah padanya tahlil (La Ilaha Illa Allah) , takbir (Allah Akbar) dan tahmid (Alhamdu Lillah)”.
Ibnu Hibban di dam kitab Sahihnya meriwayatkan dari Jabir Radhia Allah ‘anhu bahawa Baginda Salla Allah ‘alaihi wa sallam bersabda : “Seutama-utama hari adalah hari ‘Arafah”.

Taklimat Karier Sebagai Perunding Saham Amanah

Salam,

 

Berita baik untuk yang

• masih menganggur, sedang mencari-cari pekerjaan/jawatan kosong
• sudah bekerja tapi ingin menambahkan pendapatan
• ingin memiliki karier yang fleksibel, bukan 8 pagi-5 petang rutin harian
• sedang belajar dan perlu mencari wang tambahan untuk menampung perbelanjaan
• ingin mencapai ‘financial freedom‘/kebebasan kewangan
• ingin memiliki agensi perniagaan sendiri dengan modal paling minima
• pekerjaan berlandaskan syariah Islam

Satu program penerangan Grand Business Opportunity Seminar tentang karier sebagai perunding saham amanah atau ‘unit trust consultant‘ ini akan diadakan seperti berikut;

a) Tarikh: 20 November, 2009 Jumaat

b) Tempat: MS Garden Hotel, Kuantan Pahang

c) Masa: 7.45malam

d) Penceramah Jemputan: Dua orang Group Agency Manager

e) Kelayakan minima: Berumur 21 tahun ke atas, memiliki sijil SPM keatas, mempunyai keinginan tinggi untuk belajar dan mencapai cita-cita peribadi.

Hubungi saya di 019-985 5546 atau email nafandi@gmail.com untuk menempah tempat anda sekarang.

US Stocks at 13-month Closing Highs

Salam,

US market is going higher!

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose broadly on Monday, sending indexes to fresh 13-month closing highs, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reinforced expectations that interest rates would stay low to spur growth.

Bernanke repeated that the Fed was likely to keep interest rates exceptionally low for “an extended period,” a pledge that weighed on the U.S. dollar and drove investors to snap up shares of natural resource companies as prices of global commodities — from gold to wheat — shot higher.

In a speech before the Economic Club of New York, Bernanke said the recovery would not be as robust as previously hoped, and rising unemployment and tight bank lending were significant headwinds.

Lambaian Haji

Salam,

Lambaian haji sudah tiba lagi, jutaan umat Islam dari seluruh dunia akan mengerjakan fardu haji pada tahun ini, yang melengkapkan rukun Islam untuk setiap individu muslim.

Tahun ini antara yang menjadi tetamu Allah adalah kawan saya, yang dua tahun lebih tua daripada saya bersama ibunya. Beliau sudahpun selamat tiba di bumi Mekah.

InsyaAllah kedua orang mertua saya juga akan berangkat pada minggu depan untuk mengerjakan fardu haji.

Dalil wajib haji dinyatakan dalam Al-Quran melalui Surah Ali Imran ayat 97 yang bermaksud;

Di situ ada tanda-tanda keterangan yang nyata (yang menunjukkan kemuliaannya; di antaranya ialah) Makam Nabi Ibrahim. Dan sesiapa yang masuk ke dalamnya aman tenteramlah dia. Dan Allah mewajibkan manusia mengerjakan ibadat Haji dengan mengunjungi Baitullah iaitu sesiapa yang mampu sampai kepadanya. Dan sesiapa yang kufur (ingkarkan kewajipan ibadat Haji itu), maka sesungguhnya Allah Maha Kaya (tidak berhajatkan sesuatu pun) dari sekalian makhluk.

Achieve Your Dreams: Six Steps to Accomplish Your Goals and Resolutions

Salam,

A very good article from About.com by Susan M. Heathfield.

Don’t let your goals and resolutions fall by the wayside. Chances are that to achieve your dreams and live a life you love, those goals and resolutions are crucial. Goal setting and goal achievement are easier if you follow these six steps for effective and successful goal setting and resolution accomplishment.

• You need to deeply desire the goal or resolution. Napoleon Hill, in his landmark book,Think and Grow Rich, had it right. “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.” So, your first step in goal setting and achieving your dreams is that you’ve got to really, really want to achieve the goal.

• Visualize yourself achieving the goal. Lee Iacocca said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” What will your achievement feel like? How will your life unfold differently as a result? If the goal is a thing, some gurus of goal setting recommend that you keep a picture of the item where you see and are reminded of it every day. If you can’t picture yourself achieving the goal, chances are – you won’t.

Dow Index Rallies To Above 10,000

Salam,

Another indicator of improving economy?

2009/10/15

A POWERFUL rally lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its first close above 10,000 in over a year Wednesday, amid growing optimism about a recovery in profits and the overall economy.

The blue-chip index, Wall Street’s leading barometer, rallied 144.80 points (1.47 per cent) to close at 10,015.86, its highest closing level since October 3, 2008.

The Nasdaq composite jumped 32.34 points (1.51 per cent) to 2,172.23 and the broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 18.83 points (1.75 per cent) to 1,092.02, the highest levels for those indexes in over a year.