PETALING JAYA: The Armed Forces Fund Board, also known as Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), aims to pay a 5% dividend for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY22), says its CEO Datuk Ahmad Nazim Abdul Rahman.

       Elaborating on this, he said the dividend is the figure the fund hopes to achieve in the long run.

       “So, what we will see over the next five years is LTAT achieving its objective of the strategic asset allocation framework, the right mix of assets within its portfolio that covers all the asset classes,” he said during the MIDF Conversations event held virtually yesterday.

       “This will translate into providing stable and sustainable returns. We will start at 5% by the end of this year and that will be the figure that we hope to achieve over the long term,” he added.

       It was reported that LTAT had started its transformation journey and was currently executing the plan for FY22.

       “We hope to double our fixed income to 20% of total assets – in which the management of funds will be done through both internal and external fund managers,” Ahmad Nazim said.

       He added that the fund also aimed to increase its public equity exposure to 50% via the realignment of its asset allocation as it plans to foray into international markets. It targets to increase its public equity allocation to 50% from 44.1%, with 30% to be dedicated to foreign investments.

       “So, we will see 20% allocated for investments abroad while the remaining 320% would be for the domestic market,” he said, adding that the fund was looking at investing abroad in the third or fourth quarter of 2022 after getting the necessary approvals.

       For the 2022 outlook, LTAT said it was focused on the allocation of retirement funds which provided stable returns on the pension funds of the Armed Forces, and gave them the necessary financial and social security upon retirement

       As of March 31, 2022, LTAT’s strategic asset allocation comprised a 44.1% portion for public equities, followed by real estate at 27.3%, which also included a portion of private equity at 13.3% and fixed income at 8.4%, while the money market and cash segment, and strategic investments made up 4% and 2.8%, respectively.

       In regard to the group’s plan, Ahmad Nazim said he hoped to enhance the value of the company so that it could achieve a market price that was at par with the actual value of the company.

       “We also consider the welfare of veterans, for people who have served in the Armed Forces for 20 years, as for them to go for a second career in their 40s is quite difficult. So, the welfare of veterans has to be a big social programme and we will be taking care of the requirements time after time,” he said.

       MIDF group managing director Datuk Charon Mokhzani was the moderator for the event.