Launching of iCapital International Value Fund

Capital Dynamics (Australia) Ltd, a member of the Capital Dynamics group led by the renown Malaysian fundamentalist investor and fund manager Mr. Tan Teng Boo (陈鼎武), will launch the iCapital International Value Fund on 1 June 2009.

As a tracked record, from 1998 to Mar 2009, Capital Dynamics Asset Management Sdn Bhd run by Tan Teng Boo delivered a net compound return of 19.78% annually versus 3.16% per annum for the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI). Meanwhile, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has delivered annual returns of only 5% over that period! If one were to compare Tan’s performance with Warren Buffett’s in the last 10 years, Tan wins. (Source: The Star - Up Close and Personal with Tan Teng Boo)

The iCapital International Value Fund (ICIVF) is an open ended, managed investment scheme registered in Australia which invests in listed securities globally. As investors do not pay any entry or exit fees, they buy and sell based on its NAV. The ICIVF will be denominated in Australian dollars.

Any interested investors, retail, corporate, or institutional, can invest in ICIVF. The initial investments are kept to A$20,000 (around RM50,000). Additional investment required is A$2,000.

A very interesting question to ask to fellow Malaysian: if you have RM50,000 ready for investment, do you prefer to invest in ASM, ASW2020, or ICIVF?

Capital Dynamics will conduct 2 road shows in Kuala Lumpur to explain about this international fund.

Venue: 16th Floor, Plaza First Nationwide, 161 Jln Tun HS Lee, KL.
Dates:

• 15 May 2009 (5.30pm - 7.30pm)
• 21 May 2009 (6.00pm - 8.00pm)
  

There are also road shows in Kota Kinabalu, Sibu, Kuching, Melaka, Penang and Singapore in early June 2009. Click here for the flyer and registration form.

Click here for more information about the iCapital International Value Fund.

6 Rookie CIO Mistakes in Vendor Management

It is one of the CIO roles to effectively manage the vendors to get the most for his/her business. May 2009 edition of CIO Insight magazine has highlisted 6 mistakes common to rookie CIO in vendor management.

1. Failing to Speak With One Voice

CIOs make the biggest mistakes in vendor management when too many cooks get in the kitchen without putting an executive chef in charge, resulting in no one is held accountable, communication breaks down and suppliers don’t get good direction.

2. Skipping the Homework

The CIO must be clearly understand what is required from the vendor, before expecting the vendor to understand the requirements. Groundwork such as developing written requirements and going through formal RFP process is crucial.

3. Fixating on Price

Pricing is very important, but there are other equally important factors in vendor selection. The CIO must understand to get the right people doing the right thing at the right price.

4. Using Too Few Suppliers

Too much reliance on single vendor could be disastrous, as the negotiation power will be deteriorated.

5. Only Dealing With Large Vendors

Your deal could looks small for large vendors, but could be precious for small vendors. Therefore, the smaller vendors might provide better service, and at the same time you might have greater leverage in negotiation with them.

6. Signing and Forgetting

Successful CIOs review their partners regularly to ensure everything is going according to plan and to make adjustments to agreements when necessary. Signing is just the beginning rather than an end.

From RON97 to RON95?

The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister has just announced that the current RON92 petrol sold in the country will be replaced by RON95, and selling at the price of RM1.75 per litre. It will be made available nationwide by 1 September 2009.

The price of RON97 super-fuel will also be increased from the current RM1.80 per litre to RM2.00 from 1 September 2009 onwards, which is a rise of 11.11%. This is a drastic move to encourage the people to switch from current RON97 to RON95. It is argued that RON95 can be used in majority of the petrol-fueled cars on the road.

How will be the performance of RON95 compared with RON97? We have no idea yet until we have used the RON95 and benchmark it with RON97.

However, we can make reference to the comparison between Shell Super (RON97) and Shell V-Power (RON98). The information about Shell V-Power is RON98 can be confirmed in Shell Malaysia website (you can click the link to go to the "V-Power Fuel Composition" page in that website).

So what's the different between Shell V-Power (RON98) and Shell Super (RON97)? What will be the different between RON97 and RON95 then?

And no doubt, the Shell V-Power will also be priced higher by 1 September 2009, following the price increase of RON97.

It is a pity that we are told to downgrade the fuel we use in our car from RON97 to RON95, or have to pay a higher price to maintain the same after 1 September 2009. While the global world is moving forward, why we always have a feeling that we are moving backward?