CIMB Dynamic Market Rider NID-i reaching maturity at last.

I am amazed at my rather impulsive action of buying the CIMB investment products in early 2008. I have written about this  purchase in 2009 blog post on how worried I was about my capital being reduced or worse still totally wiped out following the financial crisis in late 2008. There was some discussion between the term capital-protected and capital guaranteed ( and now I am told under the sharia-compliant products, it is called "capital-preservation").

Following the Lehmann Brothers'collapse precipitating the global crisis in 2008, many of their products supposedly capital-protected were not honoured and many investors were left high and dry. Despite CIMB's assurance that the product is capital protected upon the three-year maturity date, I remain apprehensive. Though as the market picked up in 2009 and 2010, my apprehension gradually subsides.

I was talked into buying the product for its high return and capital protection which are attractive features for any investor. The downside is you are forced to leave it, like fixed deposit, untouched for three to five years, the longer you put it the more returns you would get. Unlike fixed deposit with a known interest rate, this product would have dividend calculation varying with market performance of variety of equities they are exposed to. So your investment is supposed to be relatively "safe" like the mutual funds/unit trusts.

I must admit I had never monitored the product's performance as it was rather complicated to access the web page. I gave up after a couple of attempts despite being informed on how to do. Perhaps I did not mind so much since my capital will be protected. I know that this is an indifferent investor's attitude. Please do not follow my bad example. Anyway, even if I monitored it, what could have I done before it reaches maturity? If it was not doing well and I withdrew then my capital is no longer protected so I decided to just ignore it and take things one day at the time. In less than three weeks my " Islamic Negotiable Instrument of Deposit- NID-i , will finally mature. Thanks goodness and I hope my delayed gratification mode is not an exercise in futility. I hope to get back my capital with some "great dividends".....

I will know whether it is worth leaving my money there for three years  as I have calculated the returns (with compound interest)  I would have got if I had put the same money for example in ASM for three years. Should it be lower than ASM-derived dividends, then I know I have been taken for a ride. When I bought the product I was told that I could get 10%  more than ordinary PNB trust funds. Let us see whether what the bank says is what you get.