KUALA LUMPUR: Hwang Investment Management Bhd (HwangIM) yesterday became the first of the eight private retirement scheme (PRS) providers appointed to launch PRS products.

HwangIM’s offering, called Hwang PRS Solutions, comprises four funds that will provide contributors “a layer of customisation depending on their objectives, needs and risk appetites”, said the company.

The four funds currently on offer by Hwang PRS Solutions are Hwang PRS Growth fund, Hwang PRS Moderate Fund, Hwang PRS Conservative Fund and Hwang AIIMAN PRS Syariah Growth Fund.

The funds are open to all Malaysians and foreigners above 18 years of age as well as to companies looking to add to their employees’ existing retirement contributions or in the form of staff retention programmes.

“We are pleased to be the first to roll out our PRS solutions. We believe HwangIM is also the first provider to offer the investing public low-cost PRS solutions that feature 0% front-end fees across all fund offerings,” said HwangIM CEO and executive director Teng Chee Wai.

“Our view is that retirement investing should be simple and low-cost, without the high initial fees usually associated with unit trust investing,” he added.

While the initial investment sum for most unit trust funds is considered high for many as it is currently set at RM1,000, Hwang PRS Solutions has set the initial investment sum at an affordable RM100 for each fund, and subsequent top-ups at a minimum of RM50.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Nov 1, 2012.