The seminar saw full
house participation from students and staff (first row, starting fourth
from left): Shamini, Husaini Hussin, Dr Sia, and A. A. Deepa
Private Pension
Administrator (PPA) in collaboration with
UTAR
Faculty of Accounting and Management (FAM), Centre for Sustainable
Development & Corporate Social Responsibility in Business (CSDCSR), and
UTAR Medical and Health Sciences Society held “Jom! Save in PRS – PRS@
Campus 2019, Financial Literacy Programme” on 11 November 2019 at UTAR
Sungai Long Campus.
The two-hour
programme was an initiative by PPA to create awareness of the Private
Retirement Scheme (PRS) to university students. The programme aimed to
educate youth on financial literacy, inculcate good saving habits upon
entering working life and emphasise the importance of starting early to
save for their retirement.
Present at the
seminar were PPA CEO Husaini Hussin, FAM Dean Dr Sia Bee Chuan, Investor
Education and Channel Management, Securities Market Bursa Malaysia Vice
President A A Deepa, PPA Learning and Engagement Manager Mohamed Farith
Mohamed Jamal, Kenanga Investors Berhad Vice President Michelle Wong,
RHB Asset Management Group Agency Manager Mohamad Hafiz bin Nor Azizan,
Public Bank Mutual Berhad Group Agency Manager Shirley Yap, Principal
Asset Management Berhad Relationship Manager Mohd Fakhrul Hisham Ahmad,
UTAR Division of Human Resource Director Marchie Lim Pin Sim, Head of
Department of Accountancy Shamini Kandasamy, esteemed guests, staff and
students.
“Financial literacy
supports individual well-being. Smart financial planning such as
budgeting, saving for emergencies and preparing for retirement, help
individuals to enjoy better lives while weathering financial challenges.
Effective financial education is not just about teaching students about
financial products or performing financial calculations. It also
involves teaching them the essential skills and concepts they will need
to make major financial choices,” said Dr Sia in her welcome remarks.
“I believe that by
partnering together and leveraging on each other’s knowledge and
experience, financial literacy level can be advanced,” she added,
mentioning the strong bond between UTAR and PPA, including the
MoU
that was signed between both parties in 2018.
The seminar began
with a talk titled “A Glimpse into Bursa Malaysia” by A. A. Deepa. She
gave an introduction to investment and preparations needed before
leaping into the investment world. “Some matters to be asked before
investing include the risk that comes with the investment, types of
return, how quick can you get the return, long or short term investment,
and ways to reduce the risk,” said A A Deepa. She also provided a guide
to choose a great company to invest by looking for consistent profit
growth, little debt, strong cash flow, and high dividend payout.
A A Deepa also
introduced real estate investment trust (REITs) as an option for
students and fresh graduates to participate in the investment world. A
REIT is a company that owns, and in most cases, operates
income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real
estate, ranging from office and apartment buildings to warehouses,
hospitals, shopping malls and hotels. “Investing in properties can be
very expensive, REITs make it ideal for new investors because you can
start with smaller capital, so it is like you own a part of the shopping
mall, perhaps one brick of the building,” said A A Deepa, ending it with
a joke.
According to A. A.
Deepa, there is no perfect portfolio for every investor, but a right
portfolio requires the investor to know the risk preference, amount of
capital and time duration for investment
Taking over for the
second session was Mohamed Farith who introduced PRS to the students.
“An average life expectancy of Malaysians is about 75 years. After
retiring at 55 years old, we are expected to need at least 20 years of
sufficient retirement savings,” said Encik Mohamed Farith. The
sufficiency is one of three retirement concerns that he highlighted.
Other two were adequacy (two-third replacement income is recommended for
retirement) and sustainability of living standards as it rises in the
future.
Offering a simple yet
reliable plan for retirement, Mohamed Farith urged the public to save 10
per cent or more of their monthly salary in PRS, aside of the compulsory
contributions made in other schemes such as Employees Provident Fund
(EPF) and Retirement Fund (KWAP). PRS also ensures safety as it is
regulated by Securities Commission Malaysia.
Mohamed Farith
recommends lower deposit but contributed on a regular basis into PRS
rather than a big lump sum amount as the former is comparatively better
Mohamed Farith (far
right) conducted a light exercise to freshen up the mood of the audience
To celebrate the
audiences, PRS providers, namely Principal Asset Management Berhad,
Kenanga Investors Berhad, Public Mutual Berhad and RHB Asset Management
Sdn Bhd gave away “PRS Treats” worth RM100 in the form of PRS
contribution to 40 lucky participants. To encourage participants to
register for PRS, a minimum contribution of RM50 (normal minimum
contribution is RM100) was open to the participants who registered
online on that day.
Lucky draw winners of
PRS Treat sponsored by Kenanga Investors Berhad with Michelle Wong (back
row, fifth from left) and Dr Sia (back row, sixth from left)
On the reason to
choose Principal Asset Management Berhad over other providers, Mohd
Fakhrul Hisham said, “Our fund performance is the best in the industry.
Even better, one of our fund’s perform far off better compared to
others.” Principal Asset Management Berhad was formerly known as the
CIMB-Principal Asset Management Berhad. It offers the widest range of
PRS funds.
Lucky draw winners of
PRS Treat sponsored by Principal Asset Management Berhad with Mohd
Fakhrul Hisham (back row, fifth from left) and Dr Sia (back row, sixth
from left)
“One of the unique
features of RHB is that we are the only asset management company that
caters for both conventional and Sharia-compliant. We do not mix Shariah
and conventional at all, in fact, we have two CEOs. The separation,
however, does not mean that we have a different portfolio, instead, we
share the expertise. As a result, the Sharia-compliant fund may perform
better than the conventional fund,” said Mohamad Hafiz as he explained
what his team has to offer.
“We are here to
create awareness. With PRS, we hope that they understand more about
financial literacy and make plans for their future as early as possible.
Investment is always about time and as youths, they definitely have more
time than the rest. So, do not waste time,” advised Mohamad Hafiz. He
also welcomes anyone to be in touch with his team for consultation.
Lucky draw winners of PRS Treat sponsored by RHB Asset Management with Mohamad Hafiz (back row, fourth from right) and Dr Sia (back row, fourth from left)
According to Shirley
Yap, Public Mutual Berhad offers the confidence in their name as well as
the warm service to the clients, “Our brand name speaks for itself. We
have a variety of funds, including local and oversea funds. For every
three months to six months we will contact our clients and update them
with the fund performance and other information. We will also remind
them to save more if they have extra money and remind them of the
importance of passive income. To have a significant passive income you
have to keep accumulating the money.”
Lucky draw winners of
PRS Treat sponsored by Public Mutual Berhad with Shirley Yap (back row,
fourth from right) and Dr Sia (back row, fourth from left)
Visitors enrolling
and making inquiries at PRS providers
Free health screening
by UTAR Medical and Health Sciences Society
© 2019 UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN DU012(A).
Wholly owned by UTAR Education Foundation Co. No. 578227-M LEGAL STATEMENT TERM OF USAGE PRIVACY NOTICE