Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
Joining CIMB in 1991, I was lucky to have had total holistic exposure in capital markets. In 2004 I joined the asset management fraternity, and as chief executive in 2005 I merged CAFM (Commerce Asset Fund Managers) and CTB (Commerce Trust Berhad) into one entity and rebranded it as CIMB-Principal Asset Management. During my four years as chief executive, the firm evolved from a Malaysian firm to a regional asset management house with offices in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. In October 2008 I took up my current position as chief executive of CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management (CIMB-Principal Islamic).
What does your role involve?
It is to establish this company as a globally recognized brand for Islamic investment management. My primary function is to market and grow the firm by capturing global clients and offering global capabilities.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
When I led CIMB-Principal Asset Management, assets under management grew 347% from end-September 2004 to end-June 2008. This was due to the great teamwork with my bosses and amongst the staff. We were the first asset manager to offer true offshore unit trust funds to the Malaysian investing public, roll out a full spectrum of Islamic unit trust funds, list the world’s first Asean exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Singapore Exchange, and expand the business to Singapore and Indonesia.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
CIMB-Principal Islamic, a partnership between Principal Global Investors and CIMB Group, is an offshoot of CIMB-Principal Asset Management. We have four investment capabilities: Islamic global equities, global Sukuk, Islamic Asia-Pacific ex-Japan equities, and Asia Sukuk. The capability with the most established investment track record is the Islamic Asia-Pacific ex-Japan selective composite.
What are the strengths of your business?
•Internationally renowned Shariah investment advisory: The panel comprises Islamic finance scholars from diverse backgrounds.
•Disciplined investment process: We are closely aligned to Principal Global Investors’ investment philosophy, particularly in the global equity space.
•Shariah compliant portfolio construction expertise: The company is able to holistically advise and construct portfolios to meet institutional global investors’ objectives.
•Islamic capital markets experience: We also leverage on CIMB Islamic’s award-winning franchise and excellent international track record in Islamic capital markets.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
Our key success factors are derived from the support of our two shareholders, Principal Global Investors and the CIMB Group. Additionally, CIMB-Principal Islamic is strategically located in Malaysia, allowing us to leverage on Malaysia’s comprehensive Islamic financial infrastructure and its adopted regulatory, legal and Shariah best practices.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
The main obstacle is one of mindset. Much of what I do involves a lot of educating and clarifying the misconceptions the mainstream investment community tends to have when it comes to Islamic investing. The most common misconceptions:
• Islamic investments are only appropriate or available for Muslims.
• Islamic products are too complicated, and that because the Islamic investment screening process limits the investment universe, it is not diversified enough.
• Because of its limited investment universe there is a performance drag when compared to mainstream investing.
Sometimes there are cultural barriers as well. For instance, in the Middle East, where the bulk of the assets are located, it has been challenging for me to make inroads as a woman. The final obstacle is the relative lack of investment track record for Islamic investments compared to mainstream investments.
Where do you see the Islamic finance Industry in, say, the next five years?
I would expect there to be a co-existence of Islamic finance along with mainstream finance in the majority of products. Additionally, I picture more financial centers besides Malaysia, London, Dubai and Bahrain. Countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and the US will be much more prominent in this field as they start to notice the potential in this industry. I also expect to see countries in Africa such as Gambia, Nigeria and Sudan as well as certain parts of Russia, Kazakhstan and Bosnia participating in Islamic finance.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
I would expect the industry to have more Islamic financial institutions listed in global bourses. Then, we can have firstly an Islamic Index and secondly include banks into Islamic portfolios. This is important, especially in today’s recovering market where bank stocks traditionally run up nine months ahead of the broader economy and portfolios that invest in banks will generally outperform. As a result, if Islamic banks can be included in Islamic portfolios at all times it will be easier for investment managers like CIMB-Principal Islamic to have comparable risk-returns against conventional portfolios. I would also like to see the mindset of Shariah scholars and secretariats evolve. They need to become professionals with deep Islamic capital market experience, not simply experts in Islamic jurisprudence.