Unit Trusts and Robo-Advisors in Malaysia

If you would rather have a professional or an algorithm run your portfolio than pick stocks yourself, Malaysia gives you two main routes: unit trusts and robo-advisors. Both pool your money with other investors and invest it for you. The difference is in how you buy, what you pay, and who is on the other side.

A unit trust is a fund managed by a licensed fund manager (PNB, AHAM, Public Mutual, Eastspring and others). You buy units at a price, hold them, and sell back to the fund. Some are priced at a fixed RM1.00 per unit (the ASNB funds), most float daily with the market.

A robo-advisor is an app that builds and rebalances a portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for you based on your risk profile. In Malaysia these run under the Securities Commission's Digital Investment Management (DIM) framework, introduced in 2017, the first such framework in the region.

Malaysia's fund management industry held about RM1.07 trillion in assets under management in 2024, up 9.6% year on year, per the SC Annual Report 2024. Both routes carry market risk and neither is PIDM-insured.

Malaysian unit trusts split into two camps, and the fee experience is very different.

Fixed-price funds are the ASNB funds run by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB): ASB, ASB2, ASM and others. Each unit is always priced at RM1.00, with no sales charge and no redemption fee. You can start from about RM10 through the myASNB app, ASNB branches, agent banks (Maybank, CIMB, RHB, BSN) or Pos Malaysia. What you earn is an annual income distribution declared at PNB's discretion, so it varies year to year.

Variable-price unit trusts are everything else: equity, bond, mixed-asset and Islamic funds sold through banks, agents, Institutional Unit Trust Advisers (IUTAs) and online platforms. Their price moves daily with the underlying holdings, and they carry three or four layers of cost:

• An upfront sales or service charge taken when you buy
• An annual management fee
• An annual trustee fee
• Sometimes an exit fee

FIMM (the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia) research found the average cash sales charge fell to about 1.9% in 2020, down from 3.1% in 2014. Equity fund prospectuses commonly permit up to around 5% to 5.5%, but online platforms and EPF i-Invest charge far less. The channel you choose decides how much you lose to fees on day one, so compare the platform, not just the fund.

The ASNB fixed-price funds are the most widely held investments in Malaysia, and for good reason: RM1.00 fixed unit price, zero sales charge, zero redemption fee, and a low entry point from about RM10.

Eligibility is the first thing to check:

• ASB and ASB2 are for Bumiputera investors only.
• ASM (Amanah Saham Malaysia) is open to all Malaysians.

For the 2025 financial year (announced December 2025), ASB declared a total distribution of 5.75 sen per unit, made up of about 5.20 sen income plus a 0.55 sen bonus. ASM and ASB2 declared distributions in the region of 5.00 to 5.50 sen per unit over the same period.

Treat these figures as historical returns, not a guaranteed interest rate. ASNB distributions are declared each year at PNB's discretion and can rise or fall. A sen figure per unit works out to a percentage yield only because the unit price is fixed at RM1.00; for example 5.75 sen on a RM1.00 unit is a 5.75% payout for that year.

Holding caps have changed over the years, so confirm the current ASB investment cap directly with ASNB before assuming a limit. Because there is no sales charge and the price never falls below RM1.00, ASNB funds sit closer to a savings-plus product than a market-linked one, which is exactly why many Malaysians treat them as a core holding. See our dedicated ASB and ASNB guide for the full breakdown.

A robo-advisor asks you a few questions about your goals and risk tolerance, then assigns you a portfolio of ETFs spread across regions and asset classes. Software rebalances the mix automatically and reinvests along the way. You manage everything in an app, usually with no paperwork and a very low minimum.

The important regulatory point: Malaysian robo-advisors are licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) under the Digital Investment Management (DIM) framework. A DIM operator holds a Capital Markets Services Licence (CMSL) for fund management that incorporates automated, discretionary portfolio management. They are not banks, they are not regulated by Bank Negara, and your money with them is not PIDM-insured. Your capital is invested in markets and can fall in value.

Two cost details catch people out:

• The headline management fee (say 0.2% to 0.8%) usually excludes the underlying ETF expense ratios, so your all-in cost is higher than the quoted number.
• From 1 October 2025, an 8% SST applies to investment management services, sitting on top of the quoted management fee.

Currently active SC-licensed platforms as of 2025 to 2026 include StashAway, Wahed Invest, MYTHEO (GAX MD), KDI (Kenanga Digital Investing), Versa (powered by AHAM), BEST Invest (BIMB), Akru, Airo, Ria by ASNB and UOB Asset Management's digital offering. One name to strike off any older list: Raiz Malaysia ceased operations in September 2024 and is no longer available.

Fees, minimums and structure vary a lot between platforms. Here is where the main SC-licensed robos stand as of 2026. Add 8% SST and the underlying ETF or fund costs on top of the management fees shown.

StashAway vs Versa is the most common face-off. StashAway charges an explicit tiered management fee and rewards larger balances with lower rates. Versa charges no platform fee at all and passes through the underlying fund fees, which can be cheaper for smaller balances but harder to compare at a glance. For Shariah-compliant investing, Wahed and BEST Invest are the two purpose-built options. For a fee-free start, KDI Invest charges nothing on the first RM3,000 invested.

Fees are the one thing you fully control, so read them carefully. Across managed investing in Malaysia there are up to four cost layers.

1. Sales or entry charge, taken when you buy. ASNB and most robos charge nothing. Agent or bank-sold unit trusts can charge up to around 5%.
2. Management fee, charged annually as a percentage of your balance. Robos run about 0.2% to 1.0%; variable-price unit trusts about 1% to 1.8%.
3. Underlying fund or ETF cost, the expense ratio baked into the products a robo buys. This is on top of the robo's own fee and is easy to miss.
4. SST. Effective 1 October 2025, Malaysia's expanded 8% Sales and Service Tax applies to fund and investment management services, including unit trust management and sales charges and robo-advisor management fees. Any review quoting fees before this date now understates the true cost.

A worked feel for it: a robo quoting 0.5% p.a. plus a 0.2% ETF cost is really about 0.7% before tax, and adding 8% SST on the 0.5% management portion nudges it a little higher again. Small percentages compound over decades, so a 1% difference in annual cost is a meaningful chunk of your final balance. The cheapest channels for a given fund are usually online platforms, robos and EPF i-Invest; the most expensive is a face-to-face agent.

If most of your long-term money sits in EPF/KWSP, the Members Investment Scheme (EPF-MIS), accessed online through i-Invest, lets you move part of it into approved unit trust funds in the hope of a higher return than EPF's own dividend.

How much you can invest is capped by a formula. You may invest up to 30% of the amount in your Akaun Persaraan that exceeds the age-based Basic Savings threshold. The Basic Savings schedule is set so that a member reaches at least RM290,000 by age 60 as of 2026 (revised under the Retirement Income Adequacy framework, rising to RM390,000 by 2028), and the Basic Savings amounts were revised effective 1 January 2026, so check the current table for your age band.

Key rules to know:

• Minimum investment per transaction is RM1,000.
• Through i-Invest, the sales charge is capped at 0.5% per buy transaction, far below the up-to-5% an agent might charge for the same fund.
• You can only invest in funds on EPF's approved list, which is revised periodically.

The trade-off is real: EPF's guaranteed floor and steady dividend versus a market-linked fund that could beat it or lag it. Many members leave everything in EPF precisely because the base return is dependable. If you do use MIS, the low i-Invest sales cap is the single biggest reason to buy there rather than through an agent. Our EPF guide covers the account structure in full.

For a retail individual, the tax picture on managed investing in Malaysia is mostly light, with a few 2025 changes worth knowing.

• Dividends in Malaysia are single-tier and generally tax-exempt. From YA2025, a new 2% tax applies to an individual's chargeable dividend income above RM100,000 in a year. Below that threshold, dividends stay untaxed.
• Gains on Malaysian listed shares are generally not taxed for individual retail investors.
• Capital gains tax on unlisted shares applies from 2024, but this mainly affects companies rather than everyday retail investors.
• Unit trust and robo returns for retail individuals are generally not subject to capital gains tax. Check LHDN for edge cases, such as if trading looks like a business.

There is also a tax break worth using. The Private Retirement Scheme (PRS), regulated by the SC and administered by PPA, qualifies for personal income tax relief of up to RM3,000 per year. Several robo and app platforms (including Versa and KDI) and unit trust houses distribute PRS funds, so you can open one in the same app you already use.

None of this removes the 8% SST on management fees, which is a cost rather than a tax on your gains. For the wider personal tax picture, see our Malaysia income tax guide.

There is no single best product. The right choice depends on eligibility, how hands-off you want to be, and whether Shariah compliance matters.

Choose ASNB fixed-price funds (ASB, ASM) if:

• You want a low-risk, no-sales-charge core holding with a fixed RM1.00 unit price.
• You are eligible (ASB and ASB2 for Bumiputera; ASM open to all Malaysians).
• You are comfortable that distributions vary and are not guaranteed.

Choose a robo-advisor if:

• You want global, diversified exposure through ETFs with automatic rebalancing.
• You value a low minimum (RM0 to RM100) and an app-only experience.
• You accept market risk and want fees clearly stated. StashAway suits larger balances, KDI suits a fee-free start, Versa suits fee-sensitive small investors, and Wahed or BEST Invest suit Shariah investors.

Choose variable-price unit trusts or EPF i-Invest if:

• You want a specific actively managed fund or theme.
• You are deploying EPF savings and want the 0.5% i-Invest sales cap.

Many Malaysians sensibly combine them: ASNB as the stable base, a robo for global growth, and PRS for the RM3,000 tax relief. Whatever you pick, verify the platform is SC-licensed against the SC's public register and check its name is not on the SC Investor Alert List before transferring any money.

A short checklist before you put money in:

1. Confirm the licence. Every legitimate robo-advisor is SC-licensed under the DIM framework. Cross-check the operator on the SC register and make sure it is not on the SC Investor Alert List. Anyone promising fixed high returns is a red flag.
2. Read the full fee stack. Management fee, plus underlying ETF or fund cost, plus 8% SST, plus any sales charge. A fee that looks small can double once you add the layers.
3. Match the product to your horizon. Money you need within a year does not belong in a market-linked portfolio. For short-term cash, the cash-management products (KDI Save, Versa Cash) are lower risk, though their advertised yields move with interest rates, so treat any specific rate as time-sensitive as of 2026.
4. Check eligibility and minimums. ASB and ASB2 are Bumiputera-only; robos and ASM are open to all Malaysians.
5. Use the cheap channels. Buy unit trusts through online platforms, robos or EPF i-Invest rather than a high-charge agent where you can.
6. Keep your own records. Note what you paid in fees each year and compare returns against a simple benchmark.

This guide is general education about how these products work in Malaysia. It is not financial advice and does not account for your personal circumstances. For a recommendation tailored to you, speak to an SC-licensed financial planner.