Finances

Choosing a credit card shouldn’t be a hard task. However, with hundreds of credit cards available in the market, it can become very complicated. There are several things that you should take into account while choosing a credit card, what kind of credit card user am I? Will I only use it occasionally? Do I prefer a low annual fee and low interest rate? Considering that everyone would like to spend the lowest amount possible on a credit card, we’ll provide you some help with choosing a basic credit card . As only 6% of all credit cards available in Malaysia are considered basic credit cards, it can be very hard to find these on your own. Below you’ll find a list of the 5 best basic credit cards available:- Maybank – 2 Gold Card Maybank’s 2 Gold Card has a minimum monthly required income of RM 2,500 and a relatively low interest rate of 8.88%. Furthermore, with this card you are able to benefit from rewards, for each Ringgit spent on retail and overseas you’ll receive 5 points . For eac...

Maybe due to the unfavourable market environment, many people are flocking to place their money in bank Fixed Deposit. Coupled with aggressive FD promotions dished by almost all the banks recently, it was like an " FD heaven " win-win situation for both banks and depositors. Why " win-win " situation? You must understand why banks are willing to offer you higher FD rate, especially during uncertain business environment currently. Obviously, it's all because lacking of money. Why is this BAD news to some of us? Because of higher FD rate offered, the cost of funding of that particular bank will be higher as well, thus, it may affect the base rate (BR) subsequently. Of course, the effect will be higher interest being charged to loan borrowers. Do you still remember how BR being determined? Find out here via our previous article ' Understanding the new Base Rate '. We heard that Maybank offers one of the most attractive FD rate !!! The effective rate is 4....

Dividend fund has always been the favourite of investors during high volatile market environment, just like what we are experiencing currently. The fund aims to provide income and long-term capital growth by investing in the Target Fund which invests in global equities. Which is the Target Fund? And, how is the performance? By the way, the fund is a wholesale feeder fund , meaning it will feed into the Fidelity Funds - Global Dividend Fund (known as "Target Fund" here), a sub-fund of the UCITS compliant Fidelity Funds domiciled in Luxembourg. How will be the income distribution like ? Subject to availability of income, distribution will be paid quarterly and will be reinvested into respective class. However, only MYR class has the option to choose to receive in cash form by TT (if more than RM500 each time). Who is suitable for this fund ? This fund is suitable for Sophisticated Investors seeking: regular income (in the form of units or cash) and long-term (more than 5 year...

Being one of the most efficient government related department, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced another facilities called " e-Pengeluaran Education " to facilitate the withdrawal of money easily and conveniently online via EPF i-Akaun . What are the types of EPF withdrawals available through e-Pengeluaran? a. Buy/Build House b. Reduce/redeem housing loan  c. Housing loan monthly installment. d. Education (New launched) e. Health Withdrawal (Coming Soon) The "5E" for your ease of dealing ? Advantages of e-Pengeluaran to members are:- e-Submission and Online Eligibility Checking Submission can be done anywhere, anytime and online checking of withdrawal eligibility. e-Confirmation from Third (3rd) Party Information on education cost can be obtained online from IPT or financial institution account. e-Process (Mapping Process and Thumbprint Authentication) Application will be automatically approved upon thumbprint verification at EPF counter. e-Payment Direct ...

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has revised the list of unit trust funds approved under EPF members investment scheme (EPF MIS) for 2016/2017 period which was from 1 April 2016 till 31 March 2017. The list of unit trust funds offered under the EPF MIS is evaluated annually based on the criteria established by the EPF and approved by the Ministry of Finance Malaysia. Any fund which falls below the minimum requirement will be suspended and will not be offered during the period. A total of 234 unit trust funds from 23 Fund Management Institutions (FMI) are qualified to be offered under the EPF MIS for the period of 2016/2017, compared with 217 unit trust funds for 2015/2016. This year, instead of posting the approved fund list, Finance Malaysia here would like to highlight those suspended funds from some popular fund houses (not all) for your information as below: For full list of approved and suspended funds from ALL fund houses, please click here... Source: www.kwsp.gov.my

Chinese market has been in the prime spot light ever since the first trading day of 2016 due to several reasons. And, as an investor, we can't ignore the fact that China is playing a crucial role in world's economy nowadays, and will becoming more important in 21st century. This is for sure. But, do you really understand China ??? With this, Financial Times has recently published a documentary video on this and it's worth to spend 15 minutes to watch it. This video looks at China’s slowing economy and dwindling labour force and investigates how once upon a time one of the world’s most powerful and populous country’s has finally reached a critical new chapter in its history. Watch the video here Not enough? You can find out much more in depth about China here ( click here )...

One of the much talked about topic of the day when our PM revising the 2016 Budget again just after 3 months from tabling it late last year, the EPF contribution of employees will be reduced by 3% to 8% (from current 11%). The new revised rate which will take effect for the period between March 2016 till December 2017 , was to put more money into your own pocket, and hoping that you will spend it to rejuvenate the half dead economy. By doing so, you're contributing to the economy and back to the coffer of government via GST. What do you think ? Sounds good, if you really want to loosen abit your cash flow. Anyway, it won't make a big difference either. For example, if you're earning RM3,000 salary monthly, the 3% extra pocket money was RM90 only. Spending it on a lavish dinner? "However, from tax planning perspective, we must not forget that our EPF contribution entitles you for up to Rm6,000 tax relief (EPF + Life Insurance premium). In other words, lesser EPF contri...