Apa itu bon?

Apa itu bon?

Bon adalah akujanji hutang diterbitkan badan kerajaan atau syarikat. Dengan melabur dalam bon, anda sebenarnya berperanan sebagai pemberi pinjaman manakala badan kerajaan atau syarikat yang menerbitkan bon adalah peminjam.

Sebagai balasan, penerbitnya akan membayar faedah tetap (dikenali sebagai kadar kupon) bagi sepanjang tempoh pinjaman dan memulangkan jumlah pokok yang dipinjam apabila ia matang.

Contoh bon ialah Bon Simpanan Merdeka 2008 diterbitkan Bank Negara Malaysia untuk warga emas.

Di Malaysia, ada dua jenis bon iaitu bon kerajaan dan bon korporat. Bagi bon kerajaan, penerbitnya ialah kerajaan, Bank Negara Malaysia dan institusi separuh kerajaan.

Bon korporat dan sekuriti bersandarkan aset pula diterbitkan Cagamas Bhd, institusi kewangan dan syarikat bukan kewangan.

Pelabur utama bon di Malaysia ialah Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP), dana pencen, syarikat insurans dan institusi kewangan lain.

Harga bon dipengaruhi pelbagai faktor, dan antara yang paling penting ialah kadar faedah, inflasi, tarikh matang dan kualiti kredit.

Kadar Faedah

Bon mudah dipengaruhi turun naik kadar faedah. Jika kadar faedah naik ke paras lebih tinggi berbanding kadar kupon bon, maka harga bon akan turun ke paras lebih rendah berbanding nilai pokoknya.

Inflasi

Dalam keadaan ekonomi berkembang pesat, inflasi lazimnya turut naik. Kenaikan ini lambat laun akan menyebabkan kenaikan kadar faedah dan menyebabkan nilai bon jatuh.

Tempoh Matang

Berikutan bon adalah instrumen yang mudah dipengaruhi turun naik inflasi, bon jangka panjang selalunya berdepan ketidakpastian lebih ketara berbanding bon jangka pendek.

Kualiti Kredit

Sudah menjadi lumrah bahawa hutang perlu dibayar. Justeru kredibiliti dan kualiti kredit penerbit bon adalah penting dalam menentukan harga bon kerana ia dapat membantu pelabur membuat keputusan berkaitan pembelian bon.

Pulangan daripada bon korporat selalunya lebih tinggi berbanding bon kerajaan disebabkan risikonya yang lebih tinggi.

Kenapa labur dalam bon?

Pelaburan bon menawarkan alternatif kepada pelabur dalam mempelbagaikan portfolio pelaburan kerana bon membabitkan risiko rendah berbanding saham.

Berikutan bon menawarkan pulangan dalam bentuk faedah tetap secara berkala dan pembayaran balik jumlah pokok apabila sampai tarikh matangnya, ia adalah instrumen sesuai jika matlamat pelaburan ialah mengekalkan wang pokok dan mendapatkan pulangan konsisten.

Bergantung kepada tempoh masa pelaburan, bon yang boleh dipertimbangkan merangkumi bon jangka pendek, jangka sederhana dan jangka panjang.

Namun, dalam membuat pilihan, anda perlu memahami faktor yang mempengaruhi harga bon yang mahu dibeli. Bagaimanapun pembabitan pelabur runcit dalam bon lazimnya terhad kepada pelaburan dalam dana bon yang ditawarkan melalui unit amanah.

Dana bon adalah kombinasi beberapa jenis bon berbeza, maka risikonya adalah lebih rendah berbanding pelaburan dalam satu bon saja.

Anda juga perlu mendapatkan maklumat secukupnya syarikat pengurusan dana terbabit seperti rekod prestasi dan pengalaman mereka.

Pastikan juga pendekatan pelaburan mereka bersesuaian dengan profil risiko dan matlamat pelaburan anda.

How Safe Are Unit Trusts? We Tell You More

The nerves of many investors have been badly rattled of late. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, and the mini bonds saga that followed, gave investors of the Lehman Brothers mini bonds a rude awakening, as they saw their investments reduced to nothing but worthless scraps of paper.

One fundamental rule of investing: Always know what you are buying into. If you know next to nothing about what you are investing in, do not buy into it, no matter how enticing the returns may seem, or how persuasive the personal banker may sound!

One of our primary responsibilities is to ensure that investors know what they are investing in and are able to make profitable investment decisions in the long run. In this article, we tell you more about the advantages and disadvantages of unit trust investing, and the risk control measures behind unit trusts.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Unit Trusts In a Nutshell

By now, investors should be well-acquainted with the numerous benefits of unit trusts. Diversification, economies of scale, professional management and liquidity are the main benefits of unit trusts. For example, for a minimum sum of RM1,000, an investor can stretch his or her dollar and gain foreign exposure.

But as with any form of investments, unit trusts have their own set of risk and disadvantages as well. Firstly, the returns from your unit trust investments fluctuate according to market conditions. There is always the possibility that the value of your investments would depreciate.

Unit trusts are professionally managed instruments, but it does come at a cost to investors. Upfront sales charges, annual management fees and expense ratios are costs that investors have to take into account. The management fees and expense ratios vary from fund to fund and some can be more expensive than others.

Having run through some of the main advantages and disadvantages of unit trusts, let’s take a closer look at the risk control measures behind them.

Understanding How a Trustee Works

The assets of a fund are taken into custody, and held by a trustee. In accordance with the duties and responsibilities of a trustee of a fund, trustees are required, but not limited to:

• take into custody or control all the property of the fund and hold the property on trust for the participants
• ensure that all the property of the fund is properly accounted for
• keep and maintain a register of the participants of the fund

By holding on to the assets of the fund, the trustee functions as a third-party ‘safety net’ for investors.

However, this safety net is not 100% “fool-proof” either. A trustee can also become insolvent. In the event that the trustee of a fund becomes insolvent, the trustee is not allowed to use the investors’ holdings and monies to offset the trustee’s debts. The fund manager will appoint another approved trustee to take over as the new trustee.

Will I Get My Money Back If the Fund House Winds Up?

Investors need not worry about their investments, in the event a fund house ceases its operations.

The assets of unit trusts are held separately on trust by the trustee for the benefit of the unit holders. In the event that the fund manager goes into liquidation, a meeting will be called by either the manager or the trustee for the purpose of determining an appropriate course of action.

If a resolution is passed at the meeting, the trustee will take the necessary steps to wind up the fund. The trustee then has to ensure that the resultant proceeds have been distributed to participants in the same proportion as their holdings of units.

Investing in Unit Trusts Is a ‘Safe Yet Risky’ Affair

At the end of this article, we hope to reassure investors that there are various ‘safety mechanisms’ in place for unit trusts, notwithstanding the fact that there are inherent risks to investing in this vehicle (such as potential depreciation in value of investments) as with any other form of investments.

The important thing would be for investors to do their research and homework, understand what they are buying into, and to have a good appreciation of the risks and returns involved before parting with their hard earned cash.

What You Should Learn from Your First Investment (based on Warren Buffett's actions)

The late American professor Randy Pausch talked about parents sending their children to learn sports in his book, The Last Lecture. Pausch says that most parents rarely send their children to learn sports such as football, swimming or soccer in order to learn about the intricacies of the sport. Instead, he believes that parents want their children to learn far more important lessons such as teamwork, perseverance, sportsmanship, the value of hard work, and an ability to deal with adversity.

All these are indirectly taught when a child learns to push harder they feels like quitting. The best thing, says Pausch, is that children don’t realise that they are learning these lessons until well into the process. Really good coaches are those that can make the children learn something that they intend to teach.

Indirect lessons are also there with in the sport of investing. The investing newbie, of any age, represents the child in this arena. Smart parents and smart newbies will pick the right coach to inspire, not just the selection of what to buy, but also their attitudes and approach to buying and selling their assets.

If your personal investing coach is Warren Buffett, the lessons are clearly seen in everything he says and does. Buffett walks the talk. For example, Buffett expounds the benefits of value investing and because of this conviction; Berkshire Hathaway was holding US$31 billion in cash back in 2003 when he was not able to find attractive stocks or bonds to buy.

Lately, Buffett has been shopping. He acquired a US$5 billion stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc and US$3 billion in General Electric Co during the current economic turmoil. This lesson of value investing, practiced and preached, by the world-famous investor inspires everyone, new or seasoned, in the often brutal world of investing.

Buffett’s indirect lessons are just as beneficial and perhaps, more inspiring. Most of these, found in interviews and in his annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, set the right context for investments and can be extended to the way we choose to live.

Live Life as Simple As You Are

One indirect lesson that has proven to be true in the current economic turmoil is about living within your needs or as Buffett puts it “live life as simple as you are”. He still lives in the 3-bedroom house in Omaha that he bought 50 years ago (Buffett has other properties and his choice to live in this one despite his wealth says something). Many that have met Warren Buffett personally say that they are more impressed with his humanity than his stock wizardry. If this indirect lesson had been widely taught and learnt, the subprime mortgage crisis is unlikely to be as severe as it is.

Invest for Reasons That Are Bigger Than the Glitter of Wealth

Buffett’s action also speaks volumes about the underlying objective of making profit by investing. In 2006, he gave away more than 85% of his fortune to five charitable foundations with the bulk going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is driven to finding cures for diseases that plague impoverished nations. This donation was the single largest charitable gift in the US history of philanthropy. Buffett’s indirect lesson is not just about giving back to society. Here, he shows that it is possible, even advantageous, to become extremely rich without focusing solely on the glitter of wealth.

Throughout the years, Buffett has managed to avoid the temptation of buying companies to make a quick buck. During the dot-com bubble, Buffett avoided investing in technology companies, saying that he did not understand their business model. The results are obvious. Buffett was right and those that doubted his sanity or logic lost their money.

Buy to Hold Forever

Another indirect lesson that should be learnt by all, especially those making their first investment is about holding for the long-term. Buffett’s holding period is said to be “forever”. The Coca-Cola Co is an example of a key holding of Berkshire Hathaway, one that he may well hold ‘forever’. Here, holding forever means buying a company and its prospects that you believe in. This is holding when the stock falls (perhaps even buying more) without a change to its fundamentals or the reasons that compelled the purchase in the first place. A falling investment due to external circumstance does not make it a bad buy. With this view, newcomers and seasoned investors can reduce their emotional distress when markets fall.

Granted, it is easier to learn indirect lessons with experiences such as in organised sports. These three are just here to prodded investors to think a little harder about the reasons why they want to invest and in the way they chose to live life.

source : http://www.fundsupermart.com.my/main/research/viewHTML.tpl?articleNo=139