Manulife Asset Management Services Bhd and Eastspring Investments Bhd emerged the biggest winners at The Edge-Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Awards 2017.
Besides winning the award for Best Overall Group (Provident), Manulife also took home seven individual awards, two of which were in the Islamic category and three in the recently introduced Provident category.
Eastpring Investments, which clinched the award for Best Mixed Asset Group (Provident), also took home the most number of individual awards at 16.
The other group award winners were Kenanga Investors Bhd, RHB Asset Management Bhd and Hong Leong Asset Management Bhd. They won the awards for Best Equity Group (Islamic), Best Bond Group (Provident) and Best Equity Group (Provident) respectively.
A new category - the Malaysia Provident Fund universe - was introduced this year to acknowledge the best performing Employees Provident Fund-approved funds. Of the 56 individual awards given out, 28 were for this category, 16 for the Islamic category and 12 for the conventional category.
The guest of honour at the awards ceremony today was Securities Commission Malaysia deputy chief executive Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin. The event was also attended by Datuk Mohamad Nasir Ab Latif, deputy CEO (investment division) of the Employees Provident Fund; Fariq Hassan, interim CEO of the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia; Raymond Lee, director and senior site leader at Thomson Reuters; Xav Feng, Lipper head of research for Asia; and Ho Kay Tat, The Edge Media Group's publisher and group CEO.
Winners list
Group award winners
| Award | Company |
| Best Overall Group (Provident) | Manulife Asset Management Services Bhd |
| Best Bond Group (Provident) | RHB Asset Management Sdn Bhd |
| Best Equity Group (Provident) | Hong Leong Asset Management Bhd |
| Best Equity Group (Islamic) | Kenanga Investors Bhd |
| Best Mixed Asset Group (Provident) | Eastspring Investments Bhd |
Individual award winners
Duration: 3 years
| Award | Fund |
| Bond MYR | KAF Enhanced Bond |
| Bond MYR (Provident) | AMB Income Trust |
| Bond MYR (Islamic) | RHB Islamic Bond |
| Equity Asia-Pacific | Public Far-East Alpha-30 |
| Equity Asia-Pacific (Provident) | Public Asia Ittikal |
| Equity Asia-Pacific Ex-Japan | PB China ASEAN Equity |
| Equity Asia-Pacific Ex-Japan (Provident) | Manulife Investment Pacific |
| Equity Asia-Pacific Ex-Japan (Islamic) | Public Islamic Asia Leaders Equity |
| Equity Global (Provident) | CIMB-Principal Global Titans |
| Equity Malaysia | Areca equityTrust |
| Equity Malaysia (Provident) | Hong Leong Penny Stock |
| Equity Malaysia Income (Provident) | Libra DividendEXTRA |
| Equity Malaysia Income (Islamic) | Manulife Investment Al-Fauzan |
| Equity Malaysia (Islamic) | Eastspring Investments Dana al-Ilham |
| Equity Malaysia Small and Mid Caps (Provident) | Eastspring Investments Small-cap |
| Equity Sector Real Estate Holdings Asia-Pacific | Manulife Investment Asia-Pacific REIT |
| Mixed Asset MYR Balanced | Manulife Investment Balanced |
| Mixed Asset MYR Balanced (Provident) | Dana Makmur Pheim |
| Mixed Asset MYR Balanced (Islamic) | Dana Makmur Pheim |
| Mixed Asset MYR Conservative (Provident) | Eastspring investments Asia Select Income |
| Mixed Asset MYR Flexible | Public Tactical Allocation |
| Mixed Asset MYR Flexible (Provident) | Eastspring Investments Dynamic |
| Mixed Asset MYR Flexible (Islamic) | Public Islamic Asia Tactical Allocation |
Duration: 5 years
| Award | Fund |
| Bond MYR | Public Bond |
| Bond MYR (Provident) | AMB Income Trust |
| Bond MYR (Islamic) | RHB Islamic Bond |
| Equity Asia-Pacific | PB China Pacific Equity |
| Equity Asia-Pacific (Provident) | Public Regional Sector |
| Equity Asia-Pacific Ex-Japan (Provident) | CIMB-Principal Asian Equity |
| Equity Asia-Pacific Ex-Japan (Islamic) | CIMB Islamic Asia Pacific Equity |
| Equity Global (Provident) | CIMB-Principal Global Titans |
| Equity Malaysia | Areca equityTrust |
| Equity Malaysia (Provident) | Eastspring Investments MY Focus |
| Equity Malaysia Income (Provident) | Eastspring Investments Equity Income |
| Equity Malaysia Income (Islamic) | Manulife Investment Al-Fauzan |
| Equity Malaysia (Islamic) | Eastspring Investments Dana al-Ilham |
| Equity Malaysia Small and Mid Caps (Provident) | Eastspring Investments Small-cap |
| Mixed Asset MYR Balanced (Provident) | Dana Makmur Pheim |
| Mixed Asset MYR Balanced (Islamic) | Dana Makmur Pheim |
| Mixed Asset MYR Conservative (Provident) | Eastspring investments Asia Select Income |
| Mixed Asset MYR Flexible | Public Tactical Allocation |
| Mixed Asset MYR Flexible (Provident) | Eastspring investments Dynamic |
| Mixed Asset MYR Flexible (Islamic) | Eastspring Investments Dana Dinamik |
Duration: 10 years
| Award | Fund |
| Bond MYR | Public Bond |
| Bond MYR (Provident) | AmDynamic Bond |
| Bond MYR (Islamic) | RHB Islamic Bond |
| Equity Asia-Pacific Ex-Japan (Provident) | Manulife Investment Pacific |
| Equity Malaysia | Phillip Master Equity Growth |
| Equity Malaysia (Provident) | Eastspring Investments Dana al-Ilham |
| Equity Malaysia Income (Provident) | Manulife Investment Dividend |
| Equity Malaysia Small and Mid Caps (Provident) | Eastspring Investments Small-cap |
| Equity Malaysia (Islamic) | Eastspring Investments Dana al-Ilham |
| Mixed Asset MYR Balanced (Islamic) | Dana Makmur Pheim |
| Mixed Asset MYR Balanced (Provident) | Eastspring Investments Balanced |
| Mixed Asset MYR Conservative | RHB Smart Income |
| Mixed Asset MYR Flexible (Provident) | Eastspring Investments Dana Dinamik |