Malaysia’s fund management industry assets rose 5.54% in the first nine months of 2023 as stock and bond gains in the first half of the year helped to cushion two consecutive monthly declines in the third quarter.
The industry’s total assets under management as of end-September were 956.65 billion ringgit (US$205.51 billion), up from 906.46 billion ringgit at the end of 2022, according to new figures published on the website of Securities Commission Malaysia. The regulator typically posts the data without providing analysis.
The increase was largely driven by improvements in global stock markets in the second quarter, according to a portfolio manager at a Malaysian fund management company.
“Although global equities showed signs of weakening in the third quarter, gains in the first half were able to cushion the decline,” he tells Asia Asset Management, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On a monthly basis, assets fell 0.18% and 0.84%, respectively, in August and September, snapping five consecutive months of gains.
Assets of stock funds were up 11.95% to 464.44 billion ringgit in the first nine months of the year while bond funds rose 2.05 % to 219.57 billion ringgit, and money market funds fell 3.91% to 125.52 billion ringgit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.09% and the S&P 500 Index jumped 12.13% through the nine-month period.