The EQ8 Dow Jones Islamic Market Malaysia Titans 25 ETF (stock code: 0821EA) holds a unique place in history — it was the first Shariah-compliant ETF listed in Asia, launched on 31 January 2008. In the 18 years since, it has become Malaysia's go-to instrument for investors seeking broad, low-cost exposure to the country's largest Shariah-compliant blue chips.
The fund tracks the Dow Jones Islamic Market Malaysia Titans 25 Index, maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index selects the 25 largest market-capitalisation Shariah-compliant stocks listed on Bursa Malaysia — representing the backbone of the Malaysian Shariah equity market across utilities, plantations, healthcare, telecommunications, and infrastructure.
0821EA (Titans 25) is a size-weighted index of the 25 largest Shariah stocks — more concentrated, blue-chip focused, semi-annual distributions. 0824EA (EQ8MID) is a dividend-yield-weighted index targeting the highest dividend payers. The Titans 25 has more capital appreciation potential; the Malaysia Islamic Dividend ETF targets higher income yield. Both are Shariah-compliant Malaysian equities — they just select and weight differently.
| Fund / Index | YTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | 1 Year | 3 Year | 5 Year | Since Inception** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0821EA (NAV) | +2.15% | -2.79% | -0.90% | +2.15% | +6.98% | +8.57% | -7.54% | +3.67% |
| Benchmark Index | +1.18% | -2.79% | -1.03% | +1.18% | +6.81% | +7.39% | -11.60% | -4.86% |
**Since 30 January 2008. Source: official factsheet, as at 30 June 2026. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
The -7.54% five-year return reflects a challenging period for Malaysian blue-chip equities. The KLCI has underperformed regional peers since 2020. However, the fund has outperformed its own benchmark index over every time horizon shown — indicating good tracking and slight alpha from rebalancing. The since-inception return of +3.67% (vs index -4.85%) highlights the fund manager's execution quality over 18 years.
Official top holdings as at 30 June 2026. Holdings are not a recommendation. Source: official fund factsheet.
Utilities (18.13%) and Plantations (18.41%) dominate — both are defensive, income-generating sectors that provide stability. Healthcare (12.48%, led by IHH) adds growth potential. Industrial Products & Services (12.61%) rounds out the top three. Telco & Media (10.97%) provides dividend yield. The absence of Financials is notable: conventional banks like Maybank don't qualify under Shariah screening. This makes 0821EA meaningfully different from the conventional KLCI.
| Year | Interim (sen) | Final (sen) | Total (sen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.50 Interim | — | 1.50 |
| 2024 | — | 1.40 | 1.40 |
| 2023 | — | 1.70 | 1.70 |
| 2022 | — | 1.81 | 1.81 |
| 2021 | — | 2.37 | 2.37 |
| 2020 | — | 1.81 | 1.81 |
The amount distributed each year depends on dividends and income earned by the underlying 25 companies. 2021's 2.37 sen reflects strong corporate earnings recovery post-COVID. The most recent distribution was 1.50 sen declared in October 2025 (interim, tax exempt). The fund may choose not to distribute in any given year.
| Fee Type | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Management Fee | 0.400% p.a. | Annual management fee |
| Trustee Fee | 0.050% p.a. | Paid to Deutsche Trustees Malaysia Berhad |
| Index License Fee | 0.040% p.a. | Paid to S&P Dow Jones Indices |
| Total Annual Fees | 0.49% p.a. | Silently deducted from NAV daily |
| Brokerage | Varies | ~0.05–0.10% per trade (broker-dependent) |
At 0.49% p.a., 0821EA is significantly cheaper than most Malaysian unit trusts (1.5–2.5% p.a.) and cheaper than many regional ETFs. On a RM 50,000 portfolio, the annual fee is just RM 245 — vs RM 750–1,250 for a typical unit trust. Calculate your exact fee savings →
| Feature | 0821EA Titans 25 | 0824EA Malaysia Div | 0839EA WAQF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy | Top 25 by market cap | High dividend yield | Dividend + Waqf |
| Holdings | 25 | 21 | 34 |
| fee disclosure | 0.49% | 0.505% | 0.74% |
| Distributions | Semi-Annual | Annual | Annual + Waqf |
| Fund Size | RM 67.59M | RM 15.30M | RM 1.41M |
| Index Provider | S&P Dow Jones | MSCI Inc. | FTSE Russell |
| Best for | Blue chip Malaysia exposure | Max dividend income | Social impact + income |