The launch was officiated by Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Group Managing Director of Avenue Capital Resources Berhad, a Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOF) controlled company at an event in Kuala Lumpur attended by about 150 guests and media representatives.

Of the new funds launched today, the Avenue TacticalEXTRA Fund is an equity growth fund which provides the opportunity for investors to enjoy absolute returns regardless of market conditions rather than performance relative to the benchmark, with capital preservation in mind.

In a bullish market, investments will be focussed primarily in the top 20 largest cap stocks in search for returns whereas in a weak market, TacticalEXTRA will adopt a relative defensive approach towards fixed income exposure to provide capital preservation.

The size of the TacticalEXTRA Fund is 200 million units at a launch price of 50 sen each, and the minimal initial investment is RM5,000. The fund trustee is Mayban Trustees Berhad. The fund is benchmarked against the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index and Mayban’s 12-month fixed deposit rate.

The other new fund, the Avenue DividendEXTRA is an equity income fund that seeks to achieve relatively stable returns via income and capital appreciation over the medium to long term by investing principally in high dividend yield stocks.

The fund’s primary investment will be in equities and equity-related securities which have sustainable and sound dividend payout policies to provide investors with an opportunity for regular and stable income stream.

The trustee for the Avenue DividendEXTRA Fund is HSBC (Malaysia) Trustee Berhad. The fund size is 500 million units at a launch price of 50 sen each, and the minimum initial investment is RM5,000. The fund is benchmarked against the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index. The initial offer period is from 18 March 2005 to 7 April 2005 at 50 sen.

Speaking at the launch today, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Group Managing Director of Avenue Capital Resources Bhd said with the launch of the two new funds, AvUT is targeting to increasing its fund size to RM2 billion within the next two years from the current fund size which is in excess of RM1.1 billion.

“In line with this expansion, we are also planning to launch more Islamic funds catering to the specific investment needs of investors who prefer to place their money in funds that are guided by religious and ethical values,” added Tengku Zafrul.

AvUT’s current Islamic funds include the Avenue SyariahEXTRA, a fund based on Syariah principles taken over from Abrar Unit Trust Management Bhd on August 2002 and ASNITA, a fund based on Syariah principles taken over from Metrowangsa Unit Trusts Berhad on May 2003.

Mr Danny Wong, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Avenue Unit Trust Management Bhd said that given the ongoing volatility of the equity market, the TacticalEXTRA fund is ideal for investors who want equity exposure but at the same time require fund managers’ expertise to switch asset class at the correct market time.

“This will definitely ease investors’ concerns with regards to market timing. In a bear market, the fund managers will reduce the equity proportion and increase fixed income weighting, hence minimizing equity risks,” said Mr Wong. “Given the current volatile market, the fund’s ability to switch 100% between equity and fixed income will deliver positive returns for investors on their investments,” added Mr Wong.

To provide an extra edge to investors, AvUT also allows investors to switch their investment freely through its ONEINVEST strategy. Regardless of market condition, ONEINVEST is an investment strategy which comprises of the following funds - IncomeEXTRA is a fixed income fund whilst the equity growth funds include EquityEXTRA and DividendEXTRA. The latter is the Company’s latest offering, which is a defensive equity fund. The DividendEXTRA is suited for investors who want invest to in defensive, high yield stocks.

Mr Wong added that dividends are becoming increasingly important to investors these days as these stocks provide some assurance against possible lacklustre market performance. “We have chosen to launch the new funds at this time as dividend distribution by companies listed on Bursa Malaysia has been rising steadily over the years – from only 1.4% in 1994 to 4.1% in 2004 – and this trend is likely to continue in 2005,” said Mr Wong.

Members of the public requiring more details of AvUT’s unit trust scheme can call the company’s toll free line at 1-800-38-6688.