KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) said it will remain guided by its Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) framework, amid the recent depreciation of the ringgit.

EPF chief executive officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that the weakening of the local currency would not dramatically shift its investments, as they are made for the long-term, based on the fund’s trading ranges and capabilities.

“For now, about 64% of total assets are invested locally, so that base is always [denominated] in ringgit,” he said at the International Social Wellbeing Conference 2023 on Wednesday (July 5).

He noted that foreign currency exchange only comes into play for its realised global investments.

In terms of market outlook for the second half of 2023, Amir said: “Even if there is market volatility and downwards trends, there is still opportunity for us to make money — as long as we pick the right stocks and we can trade it”.

“The key for EPF is that it must be flexible; it must be nimble, so we can manage.”

When asked about plans to sell assets, Amir said such divestments are part and parcel of normal business conditions and would depend on the market price at the given time.

“You must remember that EPF is a long-term investment, so we looked at it from that — we are guided by our strategic asset allocation,” he said.

According to EPF’s annual report of 2021, the SAA is a framework with a goal to create a diverse asset mix that can provide an optimal balance between expected risk and return, which has contributed to the fund’s positive investment performance.

This is to ensure that the fund remains resilient to unprecedented shocks to the financial ecosystem.

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