KUALA LUMPUR: Inter-Pacific Asset Management Sdn Bhd (IPAM), which focuses on US syariah stocks, is providing an opportunity to invest in “trendy” technology sectors such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, internet of things, self-driving cars, drones, space tourism and 5G.
Renowned economist and IPAM head Datuk Dr Nazri Khan (pix) said these sectors appeal to Malaysian millennials, given that young retail investors are coming into the stock market.
“We try to provide more opportunities in the US (US syariah stocks) that cater to these young people through IPAM. Their money will be held here in Malaysia, but the investments are in the US. They don’t need to worry about the exchange rate or the inter-country regulations. We will do all the hedging and handle it for them,” he told SunBiz in a recent interview.
Examples of US syariah stocks include Nvidia (self-driving cars), Virgin Galactic (space tourism), Tesla (space tourism), Electronic Arts (virtual reality) and Sony (virtual reality).
Nazri said the strongest asset class currently is US stocks, citing that the Nasdaq Composite has gone up some 30% year to date.
“They can invest regularly in the stocks via IPAM. Most of these stocks in the US are potential monster stocks, which have gone up 10 times in 10 years, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Netflix,” said Nazri, adding that there is a huge demand for US syariah stocks.
He said many are not aware of the potential of US syariah stocks, hence IPAM is going to educate investors that these are safe, syariah-compliant stocks with huge potential to invest in.
“In IPAM, we believe in ultra-growth investing style, which is investing in stocks that have huge growth potential over the long term (potential to grow 10 times or more in 10 years) and most of these stocks are in the innovative, technology areas.”
Nazri said the millennials have shown tremendous interest in IPAM’s products based on its last market talk in November, as attended by 13,000 participants across six locations in Malaysia. Majority of these participants are below 35 years old and they are technology savvy and futuristic.
“What we provide in IPAM is not only an investment opportunity, but also a solution to the rising cost of living in Malaysia. Inflation is picking up and these young people are looking for alternative, passive income that can keep pace with the rising inflation.”
IPAM is targeting 30- to 35-year-olds who are hungry for alternative income and those who understand the potential returns and risks of investing in global stocks.
Nazri noted that the beauty of letting professionals like IPAM to manage the funds and investments is that it has a track record and is equipped with better, sophisticated information to know which stocks to invest in. Nazri’s track record includes managing a sizeable fund which has achieved a return on investment of 17% within five months.
“We have safety measures to reduce the risks when such time arises. For example, compliance, money management, diversification and our own alert system when the stock goes down a certain percentage. We’re not prone to emotional investing like many retail investors. It’s dangerous to invest based on emotions,” said Nazri.
He pointed out that young investors often invest based on tips.
“Sometimes they are greedy and want to accumulate profits in a short period of time. They use a lot of leverage (strategy) and this is not healthy. They overexpose and can lose a lot as they compound their losses.”
IPAM plans to launch two unit trusts (conventional and syariah) for US soon next month. Last month, it launched the InterPac Capital Preservation and Growth Fund. These funds have a targeted returns of about 20% per annum.
Nazri said 2020 will be a good year for investing, driven by big catalysts like the US presidential election and Brexit developments.
“Despite the US-China trade war, we’re optimistic that a deal will be struck in early 2020. Interest rates will remain low and we have a healthy economic growth in the US and China. I see no reason why we shouldn’t invest. We want to make 2020 the year of global investing for the millennials.”
For more information, visit www.ddnkinvest global.com, call 03 2117 1888 or WhatsApp 018-2020 883.
