KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) outsourced RM160.24 billion of its total investment assets to external fund managers last year, down 4.4% from RM167.63 billion in 2021.

In a statement on Saturday (Aug 19), the retirement fund said the allocation was invested across both equity and fixed income instruments, representing 16.12% of the EPF’s total investment assets.

“Despite 2022 being a difficult year marked by volatility and ongoing geopolitical tensions, the EPF’s panel of external fund managers managed to deliver encouraging results that were within its objectives and expectations for the year," EPF chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir said.

"The fund managers have been instrumental in enhancing the performance of the EPF’s assets, and as our funds grow, we will continue with this diversification strategy, and leverage their insights and skill sets that complement the EPF’s own internal fund management capabilities."

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022, the EPF delivered a dividend rate of 5.35% with a payout of RM45.44 billion for Simpanan Konvensional, and a rate of 4.75% with a payout of RM5.7 billion for Simpanan Shariah.

Cumulatively, the total payout for 2022 was RM51.14 billion, compared with RM56.72 billion for 2021.

Ahmad Badri said the EPF’s diversification into different asset classes, markets, and currencies also helped the fund to remain resilient against volatility, and protect its investment returns. As at June 2023, the size of the EPF’s investment assets stood at RM1.08 trillion, positioning the fund as one of the top 10 largest sovereign pension funds in the world.

In the coming year, the EPF will continue to explore new mandates and strategies for global and domestic investments, the chairman added.

"Sustainability remains a key aspect of the EPF’s investment strategy, and it is strongly committed to its two sustainable investment targets of having a fully ESG-compliant portfolio by 2030, and a climate-neutral portfolio by 2050.

“Since the inaugural launch of the EPF’s sustainable investment policies in March 2021, we have started integrating the policies across all of our investment portfolios, including those managed by the external fund managers. This year, we have enhanced the assessment parameters to ensure their relevance to the EPF’s sustainable investment policies, as well as keeping the managers abreast with current developments in the sustainable investment domain," said Ahmad Badri.