KUALA LUMPUR (March 20): The size of Malaysia's investment management industry surpassed the RM1 trillion mark for the first time in history in 2024, driven by strong unit trust fund (UTF) sales and favourable market conditions, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) reported.

The assets under management (AUM) of Malaysia’s investment management industry reached RM1.07 trillion as at Dec 31, 2024, up from RM975.48 billion in the previous year, according to the regulator's Annual Report 2024, released on Thursday.

UTF played a key role in driving AUM growth, benefiting from positive valuation effects in the equity market. Overall, the industry saw steady net inflows throughout the year, supporting its consistent upward trajectory.

A key factor driving AUM growth was a shift from two years of net withdrawals to more money being invested than withdrawn. UTF recorded net sales of RM9.69 billion in 2024, largely driven by mixed asset funds.

A broad-based recovery in sales was observed in the second half of the year, potentially signalling renewed investor confidence amid improved market conditions.

UTF retained its position as the largest AUM category, representing 51.08% of total industry assets, followed by the Employees Provident Fund at 19.48% and corporate bodies at 11.41%. These three categories collectively accounted for over 80% of total AUM, mirroring the distribution observed in the previous year.

Despite the growth in AUM, asset allocation trends remained largely unchanged, with minimal shifts across asset classes. Equity allocation saw the largest movement, edging up 1.58% year-to-date, indicating no significant change in the overall risk profile of managed assets.

Domestic assets made up 67.77% of total AUM, up from 66.24% in 2023, while foreign assets accounted for 32.23%, reflecting a slight decline from 33.76% the previous year. The geographic allocation remained stable, with only marginal increases in certain foreign asset classes.

For more SC 2024 Annual Report stories, click here.