Hold on to your ASB funds, finance experts say after dividend slump

 

Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) investors should not be spooked by the slump in dividends to its second lowest point ever, said finance experts.

Financial analyst Zakariah Abdul Rashid said the country's economic recovery has only picked up steam a few months ago and could benefit investors in the long run.

"If the recovery lasts 12 months, the next dividend will be better than what was announced," he told Malaysiakini.

On Thursday, ASB - a bumiputera exclusive unit trust - announced a payout of 4.6 sen per unit, consisting of a 3.35 sen dividend, and 1.25 sen bonus.

There was also an additional bonus of 0.5 sen for the first 30,000 units, which translated to RM150.

It was the second lowest payout on record, with the worst being 2020, when the total dividend was 4.25 sen per unit.

For Zakariah - who was a former executive director at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, ups and downs were part and parcel of unit trust investments.

As such he said those who are able to withstand financial pressures and keep their funds in ASB should continue to do so for long-term benefits.

"The economic indicators now are better than the 12 months before this, but we must still go through the next 12 months which still has uncertainties," he said.

Meanwhile, economist Barjoyai Bardai said investors who have ASB loans should also not be spooked.

"As long as the dividends are higher than the interest rates, we can say that (ASB) is a solid investment," he said.

He added that terminating ASB loans also has risks and that getting a new loan may not be easy.

He said they should only pull out if the interest exceeds the dividends. - Mkini