EPF : Service Charges For Unit Trust Investment Capped At 3 Percent

Saturday, January 19, 2008
Members of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will pay 50 per cent less in service charges for investment in unit trusts from January 1, 2008. The EPF announced that the service charges would be capped at three per cent, and fund management institutions cannot impose service charges beyond that.

This move as approved by the Minister of Finance will help members save on service charges. The service charges by local investment funds in Malaysia currently are relatively higher when compared with other countries like Singapore, United Kingdom, Japan and the United States.

“Members can enjoy better returns from their investment in unit trusts with the lower service charges,” said Datuk Azlan Zainol, Chief Executive Officer of the EPF

Datuk Azlan also added, “We decided to cap the service charges at three per cent in the interest of our members and the fund managers”.

Currently members pay about five to six per cent in service charges.

“A study commissioned recently by EPF revealed that one of the major factors affecting the investment returns for our members is the high service charges imposed by the fund management institutions,” said Datuk Azlan.