KUALA LUMPUR (July 7): Public Mutual, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Public Bank Bhd, has launched the new PB Dividend Builder Equity Fund (PBDBEF), which seeks to provide income by investing in a portfolio of stocks which offer or have the potential to offer attractive dividend yields.

“Prices of dividend-yielding stocks are more stable and generally outperform the broader market during volatile market conditions,” Yeoh Kim Hong, Public Mutual’s chief executive officer said.

The initial issue price of 25 sen per unit is valid for the 21-day initial offer period from June 30 to July 20. During this period, a special promotional sales charge of as low as 5% of the initial issue price for purchased units of the PBDBEF is also extended to investors.

Additionally, investors who opt for Direct Debit Instruction with the fund, will enjoy a special promotional sales charge of 5.25% of net asset value (NAV) per unit for as long as the Direct Debit is active.

The fund may invest up to 25% of its NAV in foreign markets, therefore offering investors wider diversification opportunities.

Public Mutual also recently declared distributions of RM178 million for 13 of its other funds.

The PB Islamic Bond Fund, which caters to medium-term investors through investment in Islamic debt securities, saw the highest gross distribution per unit, with 6.5 sen distributed per unit.

Meanwhile, the PB Growth Fund and PB Balanced Fund saw dividends of 5.25 sen and 4 sen per unit each.

The PB Growth Fund, along with the PB Asia Equity Fund and PB Islamic Asia Equity Fund, seek to provide medium- to long-term investors who are willing to withstand the ups and downs of the stock market with capital growth.

The PB Asia Equity Fund and PB Islamic Asia Equity Fund saw gross distributions of 1.5 sen and 1 sen per unit, respectively. Both invest in blue chips and growth stocks in domestic and regional markets.

The PB Singapore Advantage-30 Equity Fund invests in up to a maximum of 30 stocks in Singaporean stocks, and also had a gross distribution of 1.5 sen per unit.

Public Far-East Consumer Themes Fund, which had a gross distribution of 1.75 sen per unit, is a good fit for long-term investors, with an aggressive risk-reward temperament.

As for PB Fixed Income Fund, it saw a gross distribution of 3.15 sen per unit. It seeks to provide a steady annual income stream, through investment in private debt securities (bonds) and money market instruments.

The PB Infrastructure Bond Fund, which invests in fixed income securities of companies in the infrastructure sector, has a gross distribution of 3.25 sen per unit.

Meanwhile, the Public Islamic Money Market Fund, PB Islamic Cash Management Fund and PB Cash Management Fund are money market funds that provide a safe option for investors to park their monies on a short-term basis. Each saw a gross distribution of 3.25 sen per unit.

The Public Islamic Savings Fund, with a Shariah-compliant portfolio, saw the lowest gross distrubtion of 0.5 sen per unit.