RM Class

3-year
Fund Volatility

12.7 High
Lipper Analytics
10 Aug 23

September 2023
Factsheet
Manulife Investment Shariah Progress Fund

Fund category Fund performance

Equity (Islamic) 10-year performance as at 31 August 2023*
100.0%
Fund objective
The Fund seeks to provide Unit Holders with steady 80.0%
long-term capital growth at a reasonable level of risk
60.0%
by investing in a diversified portfolio of small- to
medium-capitalised Shariah-compliant equities and 40.0%
equity-related instruments.
20.0%
Investor profile
0.0%
The Fund is designed for investors who are willing to
accept a high level of risk and seek capital -20.0%
appreciation and have a low income stream 08/2013 07/2014 05/2015 02/2016 12/2016 10/2017 08/2018 06/2019 04/2020 02/2021 12/2021 10/2022 08/2023

requirement. Have a long-term investment horizon. ——— Fund RM Class ——— Benchmark in RM
Fund manager
AHAM Asset Management Berhad (Formerly known Total return over the following periods ended 31 August 2023*
as Affin Hwang Asset Management Berhad)
199701014290 (429786-T) 1 6
YTD 1 year 3 year 5 year 10 year
month month
Trustee Fund RM Class (%) 0.65 -0.10 2.66 3.83 -4.69 14.03 57.26
Benchmark in RM (%) 2.75 5.24 8.77 12.15 6.91 3.21 32.00
HSBC (Malaysia) Trustee Berhad
193701000084 (1281-T)

Fund information (as at 31 Aug 2023) Calendar year returns*

NAV/unit RM 0.3090 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Fund size RM 432.50 mil Fund RM Class (%) -18.71 12.23 23.94 6.04 -17.55
Units in circulation 1,399.88 mil Benchmark in RM (%) -26.49 16.86 8.54 -2.43 -6.79
Fund launch date 20 Apr 2011
Fund inception date 11 May 2011 * Source: Lipper; Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. The performance is
calculated on NAV-to-NAV basis.
Financial year 30 Apr
Currency RM
Management fee Up to 1.50% of NAV p.a. Top 5 holdings Asset/sector allocation
Trustee fee Up to 0.06% of NAV p.a.
Sales charge Up to 6.50% of NAV per unit No. Security name % NAV No. Asset/sector name % NAV
Redemption charge Nil 1 KPJ Healthcare Bhd 3.1 1 Technology 24.3
Distribution frequency Incidental, if any 2 Inari Amertron Bhd 3.1 2 Industrial Products & Services 24.1
Benchmark 50% FTSE Bursa Malaysia 3 Hong Leong Industries Bhd 3.0 3 Consumer Products & Services 10.2
Small Cap Index + 50% 4 Genetec Technology Berhad 2.9 4 Healthcare 8.2
FTSE Bursa Malaysia Mid 70 5 Sunway Berhad 2.9 5 Energy 6.0
Index 6 Property 5.0
7 Construction 4.7
Highest & lowest NAV 8 Reits 4.2
2020 2021 2022 9 Others 5.3
High 0.4459 0.4924 0.4220 10 Cash & Cash Equivalents 8.0
Low 0.2518 0.3978 0.2813

Geographical allocation
Distribution by financial year No. Geographical name % NAV
2020 2021 2022 1 Malaysia 92.1
Distribution (Sen) - 5.00 5.00 2 Cash & Cash Equivalents 8.0
Distribution Yield (%) - 12.0 12.1
September 2023
Factsheet
Manulife Investment Shariah Progress Fund
Market review
For the month of August, the KLCI closed lower -0.5% MoM to close at 1,452 points, reversing the gains from +6.0% MoM gain in July 2023. Meanwhile,
the S&P 500 declined -1.5% while the MSCI Asia ex-Japan declined -6.6%.
On the economic front, 1) Malaysia’s exports fell -13.1% y-o-y in July 2023, slightly below market estimates of 11.3% fall. The worse-than-expected
export contraction last month was dragged by palm oil-based products, LNG, and crude minerals; 2) June 2023 IPI decreased -2.2% y-o-y, from 4.8% in
May 2023. ; 3) July 2023 headline inflation rate came in at +2.0% y-o-y (June: +2.4% y-o-y) as core inflation came in at +2.8% y-o-y.; 4) BNM's
international reserves increased by USD1.5B to US$112.9bn as at end-July 2023 vs a month ago. The reserves position is sufficient to finance 5.1
months of retained imports and is 1.1 times the short-term external debt.
In corporate developments, 1) Sime Darby has announced that it will acquire up to a 100% stake in UMW for RM5.8bn or RM5 per share. Combined, the
entity would have a 55% market share of Malaysia total industry volume (TIV), covering all market segments, from entry (Perodua), mid-level (Toyota),
luxury (BMW, Lexus) to super luxury (Jaguar, Porsche). ; 2) KLK (Kuala Lumpur-Kepong) proposed to buy a 33% stake in BPlant at RM1.55/share or
RM1.15bn, two years after its IJM Plantations acquisition. Together with Boustead Holdings & Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, parties acting in
concert will acquire the remaining shares that they not already own & take BPlant private if they manage to get at least 90% stake.; 3) Sime Darby Bhd’s
indirect wholly owned subsidiary Sime Darby Industrial Machinery Australasia Pty Ltd has signed a share sale agreement to acquire the entire share
capital of Kuxton Pty Ltd and 98.9% share capital of Kagera Pty Ltd for RM1.49bn; 4) YTL Power International Bhd has confirmed a report that the
company is partnering with KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd to set up a RM4.5bn waste-to-energy plant in Rawang, Selangor. 5) August also had
Phase 2 launch of last month’s National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR). Phase 2 of the NET highlighted six energy transition levers: (a) energy
efficiency, (b) renewable energy, (c) hydrogen, (d) bioenergy, (e) green mobility; and (f) carbon capture, utilisation and storage. Recall that this is the
follow up from the NETR Part 1 that was launched last month.
In the US, the four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labour market trends as it strips out week-to-week volatility, came in
at 237,500 for the week ended 26th August 2023, slightly higher than its previous week’s average of 237,250. Unemployment rate for August increased
slightly m-o-m at 3.8%. Meanwhile, the US manufacturing sector was weaker in August 2023, with the seasonally adjusted Markit U.S Manufacturing
Purchasing Manager’s Index™ (PMI™) registered at 47.9, decreasing 1.1 points from July. US consumer confidence was at 69.5 in August, lower than
the 71.6 recorded in July. Headline inflation rate came in at +3.2% in July 2023. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy costs, came in at +4.7%
in July, decreasing 0.6% m-o-m from June.
In the Eurozone, Inflation rate came in at +5.3% in August 2023, unchanged vs the previous month reading of 5.3%. Industrial production in the Euro Area
decreased -1.2% from a year earlier in June 2023, following a -2.5% decrease in the previous month. The conditions in the Eurozone manufacturing
sector declined in August, after an industry survey confirmed that the bloc’s Manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI), a broad gauge of industry
activity, stood at 43.5 in August 2023 (vs 42.7 in July 2023).

Market outlook
The KLCI declined -0.5% in August to outperform both the MSCI Emerging Markets (-6.4%) and MSCI Asia ex-Japan (-6.6%). Starting off with headline
GDP, Malaysia’s 2QGDP was a miss at 2.9% YoY, which was a marked slowdown from 1Q’s 5.6%. In another key macro event for Malaysia in August,
State Elections have come and gone. State assemblies were left unchanged with three wins each for PH/BN in Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan
while PN won Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. News emerged for the Penang LRT to have underground sections and incorporate a future undersea
train link from the island to mainland. This idea, being mooted by MRT Corp, is not surprising as the project is now federally-funded. The state of Johor
also saw more goodies announced. After the announcement of special economic zones in July, PM Anwar added more colour by announcing perks for
Forest City. August also had Phase 2 launch of last month’s National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR). Phase 2 of the NET highlighted six energy
transition levers: (a) energy efficiency, (b) renewable energy, (c) hydrogen, (d) bioenergy, (e) green mobility; and (f) carbon capture, utilisation and
storage.
The top three best-performing sectoral indices in August 23 were the Property, Utilities and Construction sectors. The top three worst-performing sectors
in August 23 were Telco, Plantations and Healthcare. Comparing across emerging ASEAN member, Msia/KLCI however actually underperformed its
neighbours during the month of August except for Philippines which closed down -6.3% MoM.
On a positive note, August saw continued monthly net inflow (+MYR0.14) that we saw from foreign investors. Their net sell for 8M 2023 was MYR2.64b.
Market foreign holding was 19.6% at end-August vs. 19.7% end-July (-1ppt 2023 YTD), which is a new low since the GFC. Notably foreign participation in
our market have also been on the rise, with average participation of 30% in Jul & Aug vs 27.4% in 2Q and 23.7% in 1Q this year. Local institutions also
bought MYR291m in August (Jul: -MYR858m) which raised their net buy for 8M 2023 to MYR3.16b. Retail investors’ selling was another sizeable
MYR432m in August (Jul: -MYR557m). YTD, retail were net sellers of MYR0.53b.
For a second month running, property was the best performer in Malaysia, inline with the thematics that we’ve seen as of late in the NETR, Johor
economic zones, and revival of projects such as the High Speed Rail, while other rail works such as the RTS to Singapore picks up pace. The same
thematics apply to utilities and construction, which made up the top 3 sectoral gainers in August. Healthcare was the biggest loser for the month. Some of
the weakness can be attributed to Top Glove’s MSCI deletion. Meanwhile, plantations had a weak month despite CPO gaining for a second month. Most
planters reported a weak set of earnings in August.
In Sept 2023, investors' attention will be on:
1. Economy – Malaysia unsurprisingly paused its OPR hike in July to keep rates unchanged at 3.0%, supported by moderating inflationary pressure. The
next MPC meeting will be on 6-7 Sept. 2Q GDP also missed at +2.9% yoy vs 1Q’s +5.6%.
2. Corporates – Post 2Q and 1H results, corporates will be looking to play catch up during 2H of earnings season and hopefully a better set of results for
3Q23. Expect economy data to taper further, as past cumulative tightening takes effect.
3. Global - Investors will keep an eye on the latest developments in mid-Sept whereby the Fed will decide whether to hold or increase interest rates from
the current 5.50% after increasing rates by 25bps in the recent meeting.
4. Politics – Now that state elections are out of the way, markets will be looking forward to any government driven policies, as well as upcoming Budget in
October.

Fund review and strategy

We will remain highly invested as market sentiments improve with US rate hikes reaching the tail-end, completion of state elections (removal of political
overhang) & continual positive policy announcements. Market valuation remain undemanding, supported by decent earnings growth with potential upside
from multi-year lows foreign shareholding.
September 2023
Factsheet
Manulife Investment Shariah Progress Fund
We favour companies with strong management and quality earnings growth at undemanding valuation.

Based on the Fund's portfolio returns as at 31 Jul 2023 the Volatility Factor (VF) for the Fund is as indicated in the table above and are classified as in the table (source: Lipper). "Very High"
includes Funds with VF that are above 14.915, "High" includes Funds with VF that are above 11.500 but not more than 14.915, "Moderate" includes Funds with VF that are above 8.650 but
not more than 11.500, "Low" includes Funds with VF that are above 3.885 but not more than 8.650 and "Very Low" includes Funds with VF that are above 0.000 but not more than 3.885
(source:FiMM). The VF means there is a possibility for the Funds in generating an upside return or downside return around this VF. The Volatility Class (VC) is assigned by Lipper based on
quintile ranks of VF for qualified Funds. VF and VC are subject to monthly revision or at any interval which may be prescribed by FIMM from time to time. The Fund's portfolio may have
changed since this date and there is no guarantee that the Funds will continue to have the same VF or VC in the future. Presently, only Funds launched in the market for at least 36 months
will display the VF and its VC.

The above information has not been reviewed by the SC and is subject to the relevant warning, disclaimer, qualification or terms and conditions stated herein. Investors are advised to read
and understand the contents of the Master Prospectus dated 3 January 2023 and all the respective Product Highlights Sheet(s) (collectively, the “Offering Documents”), obtainable at our
offices or website, before investing. The Offering Documents have been registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), however the registration with the SC does not amount to
nor indicate that the SC has recommended or endorsed the product. Where a unit split/distribution is declared, investors are advised that following the issue of additional units/distribution,
the NAV per unit will be reduced from the pre-unit split NAV/cum-distribution NAV to post-unit split NAV/ex-distribution NAV; and where a unit split is declared, the value of your investment in
the Fund’s denominated currency will remained unchanged after the distribution of the additional units. Past performances are not an indication of future performances. There are risks
involved with investing in unit trust funds; wholesale funds and/or Private Retirement Schemes. Some of these risks associated with investments in unit trust funds; wholesale funds and/or
Private Retirement Schemes are interest rate fluctuation risk, foreign exchange or currency risk, country risk, political risk, credit risk, non-compliance risk, counterparty risk, target fund
manager risk, liquidity risk and interest rate risk. For further details on the risk profile of all the funds, please refer to the Risk Factors section in the Offering Documents. The price of units
and income distribution may go down as well as up. Investors should compare and consider the fees, charges and costs involved. Investors are advised to conduct own risk assessment and
consult the professional advisers if in doubt on the action to be taken.