Generally, RMF mutual funds are non-dividend paying mutual funds. After the first year of investment, investors are required to continue investing, with a maximum break of 1 year until they reach the age of 55, and must hold the investment for at least 5 years. For instance, if the initial investment is made at age 51, the investor must hold the units until they are 56 years old (51 + 5 years). This means that investors can redeem their units only when they are at least 55 years old and have held the investment for a minimum of 5 years. The minimum investment is set at 3% of income or 5,000 Baht.

          TerraBKK conducted a survey on RMF mutual funds with returns exceeding 7% over a 5-year period and found that the Phatra Equity RMF Fund (PHATRA EQRMF) had the highest return at 11.26%. Following that, the Krungsri Equity RMF Fund (KFEQRMF) yielded 10.68%, and the Bualuang Infrastructure RMF Fund (IN-RMF) returned 10.08%, along with over 13 other funds.



The selection of 16 RMF funds is based on the ranking by Morningstar Thailand, which includes a “Morningstar rating” that compares the performance adjusted for risk and accounting factors of each fund against the overall group of similar funds. The Rating is categorized as follows:

• The top 10% of funds will receive 5 stars
• The next 22.5% will receive 4 stars
• The next 35% will receive 3 stars
• The next 22.5% will receive 2 stars
• The bottom 10% will receive 1 star

            Regarding investment costs for RMF funds, the average Total Expense Ratio is 1.5-2%, management fees are 1-2%, Max Initial Fee is 1-3%, and Deferred Fee is 1-3%, among other details.



          Finally, TerraBKK warns that if conditions are not met, such as investing less than the minimum amount, redeeming units before age 55 or before 5 years, or pausing RMF investments for more than 1 year, the investor will have to repay the tax exemptions received for the past 5 years and will incur income tax on profits from the redemption of units (if the investment is held for less than 5 years). ---TerraBKK

Note: Fund rankings for RMF as of November 2017 from Morningstar Thailand

Article by: TerraBKK Investment Tips
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