Amanah Saham: 4 Advanced Strategies You Should Know [SPONSORED]

Every Malaysian should know about Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad, usually referred to as Amanah Saham or ASNB, the unit trust management company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB). As of 31 December 2020, Amanah Saham controls RM167.12 BILLION worth of funds, much of which are local investments.

In this article I’d like to share with you 4 advanced strategies that you should know as an ASNB unit holder. We’re not talking about ASB financing, we’re going deeper here, we’re talking power users.

Here we go.

1 – The myASNB App

Did you know ASNB created the myASNB app? Yup, they did. And you can do so many things with it. For example..

a) You can open a new account

Through the myASNB app, a new customer can open an account and make investments without going to the branch, as it has always been done before.

If you’re a new user, follow these steps to sign up:

• Step 1: Download the myASNB app. It is available on Android, iOS, and Huawei.
• Step 2: Click on Sign Up
• Step 3: Enter in your personal details
• Step 4: Upload your IC
• Step 5: Finalise account information
• Done! The whole process only takes minutes

You can read more about the eKYC process here.

b) You can verify your phone number

As an elderly Millennial, I’d just like to say this – y’all Gen Zs (and new ASNB investors I guess) have it easy. Back in my day I had to drag my bottom to ASNB or agent branches just to update/ verify my phone number. This mandatory process was required to access the myASNB portal, so while I complained, I still did it, because I had to.

Other than verifying/updating phone number, you can also perform these transactions on the myASNB app:

• Balance enquiry for ASNB unit trust funds
• Buy additional Subscription to ASNB unit trust funds
• Access to recent transactions
• Access to electronic statement
• Register for any ASNB unit trust funds
• Search for ASNB branches nationwide

c) You can make investments

After you create your account, you can straightaway make your investments, starting from as little as RM10 and subsequently in increments of RM100.

Speaking of investments..

2 – ASB is just ONE of Amanah Saham’s funds

ASB is arguably the most popular fund by ASNB, but did you know there are 16 funds in total, consisting of fixed price and variable price funds?

ASNB’s Fixed price funds	ASNB’s Variable price funds
– Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) – Amanah Saham Bumiputera 2 (ASB 2) – Amanah Saham Bumiputera 3 – Didik (ASB 3 DIDIK) – Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) – Amanah Saham Malaysia 2 – Wawasan (ASM 2 WAWASAN) – Amanah Saham Malaysia 3 (ASM 3)	– Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) – Growth fund – ASN Equity 2 – Growth fund – ASN Equity 3 – Growth fund – ASN Equity 5 – Growth fund – ASN Equity Global* – ASN Imbang 1 – Mixed Asset funds – ASN Imbang 2 – Mixed Asset funds – ASN Imbang 3 Global* – Mixed Asset funds – ASN Sara 1 – Conservative fund – ASN Sara 2 – Conservative fund

*ASN Imbang 3 Global and ASN Equity Global are funds with global exposure, great for diversification if you are over-invested in the Malaysia market

Which ASNB fund to get

Each ASNB fund is a unit trust which you can get for investment purposes, suiting various financial goals. To help you pick a suitable fund, the myASNB app has a really cool feature – take the simple 6 question suitability assessment and it will direct you to a matching product under the following categories:

• Conservative variable price
• Moderate variable price
• Aggressive variable price
• Fixed price

Here’s how the fund-buying process looks like:

3 – How to get fixed price funds for non-Bumiputera

Ok I know what some of you are thinking – Suraya I want the fixed price fund, I want ASB and ASM, but I can’t get my hands on them.

Fixed price funds are more popular than variable price funds on two simple factors: (1) no sales charges, and (2) historically, they have performed well (remember 1990-2001, where the annual ROI was 10-14%? The ROI nowadays are not bad but nowhere near there. Miss the good old days).

Unfortunately, ASB is only available for Bumiputeras (or Muslim converts, according to this Ringgitplus article), and ASM funds are harder – but not impossible – to get for non-Bumiputeras.

Here are 5 methods to get ASM:

Method 1 – Ask your bank if they have additional ASM units available for purchase. Very mafan and low likelihood, not recommended.

Method 2 – Log in to the myASNB portal and see if there are additional ASM units available for purchase. Also very mafan and low likelihood.

Method 3 – Wait for additional subscription units to be available. As per the FAQ section on ASNB page, an additional 1.5 billion units of ASM are available for subscription for the Indian community.

Method 4 – Offered through your bank, especially if you’re a premier customer. DividendMagic shared his experience in getting ASM units through his banker in this article. However, he was charged 4% sales charge for the privilege of owning ASM, which is the variable price’s portion of the package.

If you think Methods 1-4 doesn’t sound too good… then Method 5 is for you.

Method 5 – Take the Financial Planning Solution Package

Packages 2, 3, and 4 combine ASM with a variable price fund. It allows you to conveniently invest in two funds at once on a 50/50 basis, and only charges you between 1.75% to 2% sales charge. The minimum investment is RM10,000 and can be conducted via the myASNB app.

Note: This offer is valid until 31 December 2021.

4 – The estate planning service by Amanah Saham

The last power user tip is not investment related at all. It’s more on planning how the money will get to your loved ones when you pass on.

Did you know ASNB offers an estate planning service? Not only they offer it, but they also are running a promotion – you can do Hibah Amanah or Trust Declaration with just RM180 fee. Go to asnb.com.my > Services > Estate Planning Instruments.

As of time of writing, you still have to go to the branch to complete the whole process but you can still do online pre-registration and lock in the promo rates now.

Why do Hibah Amanah or Trust Declaration? Because of the speed in inheritance distribution. With Hibah Amanah, everything can be done in 21 days. Compare that to 3 YEARS of waiting, without estate planning.

Note: Aside from the RM180 charge, there are other related ASNB Hibah Amanah fee you should know, like the claim fee and annual fee (RM10 per year). As an example, the claim fee for investment holding balance of RM200,000 will total just RM2,125 in fees – this amount will be deducted from the balance before distributed to beneficiaries.

Ultimately, you know your family best – if your heirs are responsible and will use your money to take care of the people you leave behind, good. But if you have any concerns, then definitely do the Hibah Amanah and decide who you want as your ASNB funds’ beneficiaries.

Download myASNB

Those are the advanced strategies for ASNB unit holders that I have for you today. What do you think? Do you have any other power tips? Which fund are you invested in or would like to get? Let me know in the comments section!

Download the myASNB app. It is available on Android, iOS, and Huawei.