How I Got Started Investing In ASM?

When I was looking around for more ways to diversify my portfolio beyond just unit trusts and robo advisories, ASNB came to my attention as a potential investment. What is ASNB? For those who aren't familiar, Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad is a kind of a public investment company that is managed by the government and offers a range of different unit trusts for Bumiputera and Malaysians as a whole. It always had that reputation as being a good and solid investment but I needed to do more research to find more about it. Although investments such as stocks, unit trusts, and real estate are well-known amongst Malaysians, lesser known products such as REITs and ASB should be looked as viable ways to diversify and fully explore the range of investment products. What Surprised Me? When starting my research, I was first struck with the fact that as a non-Bumiputera Malaysian, I could still invest in it through the Fixed Priced Funds that they offered. Due to them be limited in number though, competition is damn fierce to get any funds so I knew that committing to this would be just as important. Another aspect that gave me a new found appreciation was that amongst the ASB Fixed Priced Funds, their average annual dividend payment was around 6% which made things even more attractive. Most of my investments are in capital appreciation and not in dividend so this seemed liked a great way to get started in diversifying my income.

How I Got Started? After looking through different articles as well as https://www.asnb.com.my, I saw that I needed to go to a physical office first to open an account which meant a Post Office for me. I went to one nearby my office to get 2 Account Registrations forms; one for me and one for my girlfriend. After completing the form, we both went to a Post Office where we learnt that you can only open an account during the weekly hours. So we went with our Identity Card, Account Registration Form, and RM10 to open an account on the following Wednesday. The RM10 is needed because the minimal investment for most of the Fixed Priced unit trusts. Although I didn't get any units, my gf got some in ASM1! We were very excited to get these few and know that this journey will be long but for our future.

We got home and quickly setup her myASNB account first through the website and then through the app which will make future subscriptions very easy and simple. After a couple more visits to the Post Office, I got my first units as well. They were in ASM 3 which hasn't got the same track record as ASM1 but was happy nonetheless.

Why We Invested? The main reason we wanted to invest in ASNB is because of the consistent and secure performance in payments that the funds had given. Investing is not just about investing for the long term and waiting for those assets to appreciate in value but also looking for investments that give out regular payments to supplement your salary. These include rental properties or side businesses but the way we could start is through ASM. I hope that you enjoy reading this and really look at these investment type as a viable way to bringing income diversification to your portfolio.