KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 18): Public Bank Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary Public Mutual has today launched a new fund, PB ASEAN Dividend Growth Sequel Fund (PBADSQF).

In a statement today, Public Mutual said PBADSQF sought to provide income by investing in a portfolio of stocks in domestic and regional markets that offer or have the potential to offer attractive dividend yields.

The fund will invest 75% to 98% of its net asset value (NAV) in equities while the balance will be invested in fixed income securities and liquid assets that include money market instruments and deposits, according to Public Mutual.

It said up to 98% of the fund's NAV may be invested in selected regional markets including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and other permitted markets.

Public Mutual chief executive officer Yeoh Kim Hong said PBADSQF was the sequel fund to the existing fund PB ASEAN Dividend Fund (PBADF), which remained a popular choice among investors.

"PBADSQF is structured to provide consistent returns with lower volatility, and the fund is suitable for those who wish to pursue annual income and capital growth over the long term," she said.

The initial issue price for PBADSQF is 25 sen per unit during the 21-day initial offer period from Aug 18 to Sept 7.

The minimum initial investment for the fund is RM1,000 and the minimum additional investment is RM100.

Public Mutual said investors who purchase the fund during the initial offer period can enjoy a promotional sales charge as low as 5% of the initial issue price per unit.

Furthermore, during the period from Aug 18 to Sept 7, investors who opt for direct debit instruction with PBADSQF will enjoy a promotional sales charge of 5.25% of NAV per unit for as long as the direct debit is active.

Terms and conditions apply.

Public Mutual is Malaysia's largest private unit trust company with more than 100 unit trust funds under its management.

It is also an approved private retirement scheme (PRS) provider, managing nine PRS funds. It has a total of 32 branches/customer service centres nationwide and over 3.2 million accountholders.

As at end-June 2016, the fund size managed by the company was RM67.7 billion.