Petaling Jaya, 1 October - Pacific Mutual Fund Bhd, the unit trust arm of PacificMas Berhad, has announced the following income distributions for five of its Funds for their financial year ended 30 September 2007;

Pacific Premier Fund - 6.0 sen per unit
Pacific Income Fund - 4.0 sen per unit
Pacific Focus18 Fund - 5.0 sen per unit
Pacific Cash Fund - 1.5 sen per unit
Pacific S&P Global STARS Fund - 3.0 sen per unit

This translates to the following distribution yields for investors respectively based on the net asset value (NAV) per unit of the respective Funds prior to the distribution:

Pacific Premier Fund - 6.67%
Pacific Income Fund - 6.48%
Pacific Focus18 Fund - 6.92%
Pacific Cash Fund - 2.90%
Pacific S&P Global STARS Fund - 5.54%

"Despite the obvious heightened volatility of global equity markets over the past year, consistent, stable performance has always been the hallmark of Pacific Mutual, and these latest fund distributions payout would benefit over 16,000 account holders who currently hold 800 million units of the total combined fund size of these Funds. Additionally, we are confident that these Funds will continue to perform well in their respective categories," Gan further expressed.

Pacific Mutual now manages a total of 17 Funds, of which five are Funds with global exposure. As at end of September 2007, it has over 50,000 accounts under its management worth RM1.8 billion.

Pacific ADVANTAGE GDP Momentum Fund, is the first of its kind global fund introduced in Malaysia.  The Fund builds its portfolio by focusing on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) size and growth momentum of countries and regions around the world.

CEO/CIO of Pacific Mutual, Michael Auyeung, said, "The unique feature of Pacific ADVANTAGE GDP Momentum Fund is that the Fund searches beyond stock market valuation to build its portfolio. The Fund will analyse, study and take into consideration the GDP size and growth momentum of countries and regions when selecting its investments, rather than merely looking at market value or capitalisation. In addition, to maintain capital stability and minimise the potential adverse effect of foreign exchange risk, the Fund will also have a significant portion in local fixed income instruments. We believe that this combination is an important feature for investors today in light of increased global volatility."

Auyeung added, "We are also pleased to announce that we have brought in a very strong partner to distribute this unique, first-of-its-kind fund in Malaysia - HSBC BANK MALAYSIA BERHAD. Pacific Mutual's partnership with HSBC Bank dates back to 2001. Throughout these years, HSBC Bank has distributed more than RM650 million worth of Pacific Mutual's Funds to its clients. The introduction of Pacific ADVANTAGE GDP Momentum Fund will no doubt be another innovative fund addition for the customers of HSBC Bank."

Pacific ADVANTAGE GDP Momentum Fund is only available from the branches of HSBC Bank. 

The external investment manager for the offshore equity portion of Pacific ADVANTAGE GDP Momentum Fund is HSBC Investments (Singapore) Limited (HSBC Investments). HSBC Investments is part of the HSBC Group Investment Businesses, which provides global investment solutions. As of end-May 2007, the HSBC Group Investment Businesses had total assets under distribution of US$339 billion of which the Singapore office contributes S$4.5 billion.

Pacific ADVANTAGE GDP Momentum Fund, which has an approved fund size of 600 million units (RM300 million), is currently being offered at the net asset value (NAV) per unit of RM0.5000 plus a service charge of up to 5% of NAV per unit during the offer period, which will end on 23 September 2007.

Pacific Mutual is currently managing a total of 17 Funds inclusive of Pacific ADVANTAGE GDP Momentum Fund.  As at end-August 2007, the Company has over 54,000 accounts under its management worth more than RM1.6 billion.

Pacific Dana Dividen is a fairly aggressive Islamic equity fund that can invest up to 50% of its net asset value in foreign investment markets.  The Fund aims to provide capital growth and steady income in the medium to long-term by investing in a portfolio of Shariah-compliant equities that are paying or have the potential to pay attractive dividends.

CEO and CIO of Pacific Mutual, Michael Auyeung said, "Pacific Dana Dividen has an investment strategy of buying into Shariah-compliant stocks, with sustainable and high dividend yields, that offer attractive and potentially above average income and capital gains. The Fund's portfolio of Shariah-compliant dividend stocks provides lower volatility as price fluctuations of these Shariah-compliant stocks tend to be lower than general Shariah-compliant equities.  Historical studies and our experience with our own Pacific Dividend Fund shows that dividend stocks have a propensity to outperform their respective underlying markets." 

"The portfolio of this Fund will provide investors with access to Shariah-compliant equities of fundamentally sound companies with healthy cash balances and bright profit growth prospects, leading to enhanced dividend payout potential."

Auyeung added that, "Dividend style investing is tried and tested, through bull and bear markets.  Our first dividend fund, Pacific Dividend Fund, launched in 2003, has generated a total return of 89% since its inception in November 2003  (compared to its benchmark, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index, of 73%), about 19% compounded p.a." (Source: Morningstar Workstation).

Apart from the advantages of dividend style investing, Pacific Dana Dividen offers investors exposure to both the domestic and foreign markets where they can enjoy greater geographical diversification, hence, lowering the volatility of the Fund      even further.

Pacific Dana Dividen is specially designed for investors who are seeking capital growth and a steady and attractive income stream in the medium to long term from a portfolio of Shariah-compliant investments. It will also be of interest to investors who want to invest in "ethical" investments i.e. stocks of companies that are not involved in particular sectors such as tobacco and gaming. The Fund, which has an approved fund size of 200 million units (RM100 million), is currently being offered at the net asset value (NAV) per unit of RM0.5000 plus a service charge of up to 5% of NAV per unit during the offer period from 26 July 2007 to 15 August 2007.

Pacific Mutual is currently managing a total of 16 Funds inclusive of Pacific Dana Dividen.  As at mid-July 2007, the Company has over 54,000 accounts under its management worth more than RM1.6 billion, thus placing the Company as one of the top 10 players in the local unit trust industry.

Petaling Jaya, 2 July - Pacific Mutual Fund Bhd, the unit trust arm of PacificMas Berhad, has announced the following income distributions for four of its Funds for their financial year ended 30 June 2007;

Pacific Millennium Fund - 7.0 sen per unit
Pacific Recovery Fund - 7.0 sen per unit
Pacific SELECT Balance Fund - 4.5 sen per unit
Pacific SELECT Income Fund - 4.5 sen per unit

This translates to the following distribution yields for investors respectively based on the net asset value (NAV) of the respective Funds prior to the distribution:

Pacific Millennium Fund - 9.76%
Pacific Recovery Fund - 10.20%
Pacific SELECT Balance Fund - 7.23%
Pacific SELECT Income Fund - 7.94%

"Investors who want to build a balanced investment portfolio must never leave out local equity funds even though the offshore funds are good for geographical diversification. Our economic momentum is expected to be stronger in the second half of the year in tandem with an anticipated recovery in the external sector coupled with the continued pick-up in domestic demand. Positive spillover effects on domestic spending are expected from the salary increase among civil servants and pensioners, increased tourism activities, favourable commodity prices as well as wealth creation from the recent stock market rally. The country's GDP rose to 6.2% in March, after three consecutive months of moderation, which suggested a continuation of steady growth in the second half of 2007. " said Gary Gan, General Manager, Business Development & Marketing of Pacific Mutual.

"Investors in our Funds who have stayed the course, enduring the volatility of the local market over the years, would now enjoy the income returns generated by these Funds", Gan further expressed.

Pacific Mutual now manages a total of 15 Funds, of which four are Funds with global exposure. As at end-June 2007, it has close to 60,000 accounts under its management worth RM1.6 billion.

Petaling Jaya, 2 April – Pacific Mutual Fund Bhd, the unit trust arm of PacificMas Berhad, has announced the following income distributions for four of its Funds for their financial year ended 31 March 2007;

Pacific Pearl Fund - 6.0 sen per unit
Pacific Dana Aman - 4.0 sen per unit
Pacific Dana Murni - 1.5 sen per unit
Pacific Asia Brands Fund - 2.6 sen per unit

This translates to the following distribution yields for investors respectively based on the net asset value (NAV) of the respective Funds prior to the distribution:

Pacific Pearl Fund - 7.8%
Pacific Dana Aman - 7.8%
Pacific Dana Murni - 2.8%
Pacific Asia Brands Fund - 5.2

“In a year where global funds garnered much of the industry interest , in reality, dom estic funds turned out to be the star performers. Pacific Dana Aman and Pacific Pearl Funds were good examples of strong performing domestic funds for the 31 March financial year ends,” said CEO/CIO Michael Auyeung.

“Investors in our Funds who have stayed the course, enduring the volatility of the local market, would enjoy the income returns generated by these Funds,” Michael further expressed.

As at 23 March 2007 , Pacific Pearl Fund recorded a total return of 78.77%, while Pacific Dana Aman achieved a total return of 212.94% since their launch in January 1997 and April 1998 respectively. (Source: Standard & Poor’s).

Meanwhile, in an environment of stable interest rates, Pacific Dana Murni achieved a total return of 14.50% since its launch in April 2003 until 23 March 2007 , thus achieving its objective of providing a stable income stream and some degree of capital growth for its investors.

Pacific Asia Brands Fund, launched on 20 January 2006 , is a global fund that searches for listed companies that have strong brand equity in the Asia region. Since its launch in January 2006 until 23 March 2007 , the Fund achieved a total return of 8.04%. The Fund continues to focus on the underlying economic strength of the Asian consumer.

Pacific Mutual now manages a total of 15 Funds, of which four are Funds with global exposure. As at end-March 2007, it has close to 60,000 accounts under its management worth RM1.6 billion.

Petaling Jaya 26 January - Pacific Mutual Fund Bhd, the unit trust arm of PacificMas Berhad, has recently received approval from the Securities Commission to increase the maximum approved fund size of its Pacific AsiaPac Income Fund.

Pacific AsiaPac Income Fund, launched just two months ago on 28 November 2006, has an initial maximum approved fund size of 700 million units. And just very recently, its fund size has been increased to 1 billion units to cater to the tremendous ongoing demand since its launch.

“Pacific AsiaPac Income Fund’s fairly conservative characteristics really attracts investors especially those who are seeking a steady and attractive income stream and a moderate level of growth while still having exposure to Asia Pacific’s attractive equities,” said CEO/CIO Michael Auyeung, adding that the Fund also appeals to investors who wish to diversify their existing aggressive portfolio by investing in a fund which is more stable in nature.

Auyeung further stressed that, “The encouraging sales of this Fund was also contributed by the current positive market sentiment, driven mainly by the increasing growth and favourable outlook from the Asian economies.”

Pacific AsiaPac Income Fund was created to allow investors to reap the benefits of portfolio stability via global, geographical, sector and asset class diversification as well as potentially attractive returns. The Fund invests up to 60% of its NAV in quality Malaysian fixed income securities, which provides potentially attractive income and greater capital stability with no currency risk. It also invests up to 50% of its NAV in foreign equities, equity-related securities, REITs and other CIF, with primary emphasis on the Asia Pacific region, the fastest growing region in the world.

The Fund is currently co-managed by Pacific Mutual and Lion Capital Management Ltd, where Pacific Mutual manages the Fund’s local fixed income portion and Lion Capital, who is the foreign manager for the Fund, manages the equities portion of the Fund, focusing on the Asia Pacific region.

Pacific Mutual now manages a total of 15 Funds, of which four are funds with global exposure. As at 25 January 2007, it has close to 60,000 accounts under its management worth RM1.7 billion.

Petaling Jaya 3 January - Pacific Mutual Fund Bhd, the unit trust arm of PacificMas Berhad, has announced an income distribution of 5 sen per unit for its Pacific Dividend Fund.

This translates to a yield of 8.41% for investors of Pacific Dividend Fund based on the net asset value (NAV) of the Fund prior to the distribution.

According to CEO/CIO of Pacific Mutual, Michael Auyeung, “We are especially pleased to note that the Pacific Dividend Fund, a local fund with the aim of searching for stocks that pay or have the potential to pay attractive dividends, has performed very well since inception. The Fund, one of the earliest dividend funds introduced in the country, was launched three years ago, and within this period of time has achieved a total return of 42.25%.” (Source: Standard & Poor’s Fund Services)

Auyeung added that the Fund was able to attain such a commendable performance due to the fact that the stock selection process for this Fund is not merely based on existing high dividend criteria. In the search for high dividend yielding stocks, fund managers of Pacific Mutual also undertake fundamental analysis to determine the future prospects of these listed companies, the prospects of the industries they are operating in and the overall macroeconomic picture. These factors in turn have a bearing on the future dividends paid by these companies.

Further to this, Auyeung said that a key contributing factor to the good performance of the Fund is the ability of the in-house investment team to identify companies that may not have a dividend track record yet, but may be in a position to undertake a dividend payment in the future or those companies that may be in a position to effect capital repayments. The stocks of these companies may be at a more attractive price level as compared to stocks which already have a good dividend track record, as they are relatively undiscovered “gems”.

Pacific Mutual now manages a total of 15 Funds, of which four are funds with global exposure. As at end of 2006, it has close to 60,000 accounts under its management worth RM1.6 billion.