Maybank Global Technology-I Fund

Premised on a long-term outlook of at least five years for Shariah compliant returns, the Maybank Global Technology-I Fund will be tapping into global companies with potential for greater market adoption and scalability.

The launch of the fund is against a backdrop of heightened market volatility.

“With renewed geopolitical and trade uncertainties following [US] President Donald Trump’s return to office – marked by significant tariffs on key trading partners such as Canada, Mexico and China – investors are seeking resilient investment solutions. The fund is designed to meet this demand by offering exposure to long-term secular growth trends in the global technology sector,” Maybank Asset Management CEO Hisham Hamzah told IFN Investor.

The fund will focus on businesses transitioning from early adoption to mass adoption.

“We seek companies at key inflection points, where accelerating revenue growth and expanding profit margins indicate increasing market adoption and scalability. We assess business models, competitive positioning and industry dynamics to identify companies with durable competitive advantages and strong execution capabilities,” Hisham explained.

This actively managed fund’s benchmark is a composite comprising of:

• 90% Dow Jones Islamic Market Developed Markets Information Technology and Communication Services 8% Capped Index; and
• 10% Maybank One-Month Islamic Fixed Deposit Rate.

Hisham explained this custom benchmark focuses on the underlying index’s component sectors of information technology (covering hardware, software, and semiconductors) and communication services (which includes key global technology leaders such as Meta and Alphabet).

“The 8% cap ensures that no single stock exceeds 8% of the index at the time of rebalancing. This reflects the fund’s risk management approach, ensuring compliance with the Securities Commission Malaysia’s regulations, where no one stock position can exceed 10% of the fund’s net asset value (NAV).”

As of the end of January 2025, the top 10 holdings in the Dow Jones index are Meta, Apple, Broadcom, Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, Salesforce, ASML, SAP, and Oracle.

The Maybank deposit rate allocation reflects this fund’s liquidity management strategy to balance liquidity and investment exposure, noted Hisham, ensuring that sufficient cash is available to meet daily redemption needs and comply with regulatory requirements.

“For Islamic liquid assets, the fund will primarily invest in Malaysia-based Shariah compliant cash instruments.”

Specifically, the fund is allowed to invest in Shariah compliant equity instruments and warrants of companies which are technology-related or derive profits from technology – either directly or via Islamic collective investment schemes (CIS), provided:

• at least 75% of NAV in global Shariah compliant technology-related equities;
• maximum 20% in Islamic CIS, which can include but not limited to Islamic exchange-traded funds that are consistent with the investment objective of the fund; and
• cap of 25% in Islamic liquid assets comprise of Islamic deposits with financial institutions and Islamic money market instruments.

Launched on the 6^th February 2025, this open-ended fund’s IPO is scheduled to end on the 26^th February 2025. Entry is RM250,000 (US$56,127) for institutional investors followed by RM10,000 (US$2,245) increments, and RM1,000 (US$224.50) for individual investors with subsequent multiples of RM100 (US$22.44).

Income distribution incidental and at the discretion of fund manager Maybank Asset Management, investors can opt for either cash payment mode when any distribution is declared or allow the automatic reinvestment.

*Disclaimer:  The opinions and viewpoints expressed in the Fund Profile do not constitute as a recommendation for any funds highlighted. The information presented is not investment advice and should not be treated as such. 

Source: Maybank Asset Management