This article first appeared in Wealth, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 28, 2026 – October 4, 2026
Income funds took the spotlight for the third consecutive month. Five of the seven new funds launched from mid-August to mid-September were income or income-related funds, according to the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia.
The seven funds were AHAM Shariah Gold Tracker Ringgit Hedged Class, Opus Shariah Income 2, RHB Global Equity High Income, RHB Focus Income Bhd — Series 11, AHAM World Series — Singapore Equity, RHB Multi-Asset Growth and Income, and Muamalat-i Global Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).
Muamalat-i Global REIT
Launched on Aug 18, the shariah-compliant real estate fund is an income and growth fund that targets an annual return of 6%.
The fund, which aims to provide investors with income and capital growth, seeks to distribute income at least once a year from realised income and/or realised gains from its investments. It is suitable for investors who seek regular income and potential capital appreciation over the medium to long term, and who have a moderate to high risk tolerance.
According to its prospectus, the fund will invest 70% to 80% of its net asset value (NAV) in listed shariah-compliant REITs globally, across various property subsectors, including commercial, retail, industrial and logistics, healthcare, hospitality and data centres. It may also invest 10% to 30% of its NAV in shariah-compliant equities, equity-related securities and exchange-traded funds, all of which are related to the global real estate sector.
Shariah-compliant equity-related securities that the fund may invest in include rights issues and warrants that can be converted into new shares of the same issuing companies.
The fund manager adopts an active strategy that seeks to identify companies expected to benefit from medium- to long-term structural trends, such as digitalisation, e-commerce growth, healthcare demand and infrastructure modernisation.
The fund comes with a sales charge of up to 5% and no redemption charge. The annual management fee is up to 1.5%, and the minimum initial investment is RM500.
Sector-wise, as at Aug 18, the fund had the highest exposure to technology (20.45%), followed by healthcare (18.18%), consumer cyclical (18.09%), basic materials (14.36%) and communication services (12.57%), according to Morningstar.
RHB Global Equity High Income
Launched on Sept 1, it is a feeder fund that aims to provide long-term income and capital growth by investing in one collective investment scheme. At least 95% of the fund’s NAV will be invested in the US dollar-denominated share class of the target fund, while the balance will be invested in liquid assets, including money market instruments.
The fund aims to distribute income monthly, or at any other interval at the fund manager’s discretion. Income may be distributed from realised income, realised capital gains and/or capital, which may erode the fund’s capital.
According to the prospectus for the ringgit share class, the target fund was incepted on March 17, 2025, and is governed by the laws of Hong Kong. JPMorgan Funds (Asia) Ltd is the manager of the target fund, which aims to generate a high level of income while maintaining prospects for long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of listed companies globally, and by using derivatives where appropriate.
“The target fund seeks to achieve this objective by constructing a diversified global equity portfolio through a proprietary fundamental research process, designed to identify stocks with attractive risk/return characteristics and dividend yields based on their financial projections, valuations and potential for income and capital growth, which in aggregate will have a higher yield than the broad market benchmark,” says the prospectus.
“In addition, the target fund will generate additional income through selling out-of-the-money call options, either listed on exchanges or traded over-the-counter [unlisted], on indices in various markets worldwide that have a high correlation to the equity portfolio of the target fund.”
The call options are typically European-style, cash-settled at expiry, with a maturity of about one month.
The fund’s sales charge is up to 5%, and its annual management fee is up to 1.8%. The minimum initial investment for each share class is RM1,000. There is no redemption charge or switching fee.
Save by subscribing to us for
your print and/or
digital copy.
P/S: The Edge is also available on
Apple’s App Store and
Android’s Google Play.