Should I invest more when the market drops?

Only if you would buy the fund today even if you did not already own it, the money is not needed for five years or more, and you could hold through a further fall. In this illustration a RM10,000 top-up at RM0.8718 a unit, after a 5.5% sales charge, bought 10,839.64 units, which is 1,127.73 more than the same money bought at the earlier average of RM1.03.

Does topping up lower my break-even price?

It lowers your average price, not the price your old money needs. Here the old RM14,000 still needs RM1.0297 a unit and the new RM10,000 needs RM0.9225, once the sales charge is earned back. Together the average falls to RM0.9821, so the climb needed from RM0.8718 falls from 18.1% to 12.7%. With no sales charge it would be 9.8%.

What is the risk of averaging down?

More money is exposed. If the price falls to RM0.75, the loss is RM3,802 without the top-up and RM5,673 with it: RM1,870 more, even though the percentage loss looks smaller (-23.6% against -27.2%). If the price recovers to RM1.10, the top-up adds RM1,924 of profit. In both cases the difference is simply the new money's own gain or loss.

Why invest for the long term?

Because recoveries take time. Malaysia's FBM KLCI fell to 262.70 on 1 September 1998, was back above its 1997 top of 1,265.01 by the end of 2007, and ended 2025 at 1,680.11, more than six times the 1998 low. Those are prices only, without dividends. From the 1997 top the index was up only about 33% by 2025, so money invested while prices were low did best. Past performance is not a promise of future returns.

How far can a stock market fall?

Further than most people expect. Malaysia's FBM KLCI fell 79.2%, from 1,265.01 on 25 February 1997 to 262.70 on 1 September 1998. Only top up with money that can sit through a much bigger fall than the one you are looking at.

Why Invest During a Market Drop? Should You Top Up Your Fund?

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Your fund fell 15%. The app says RM2,146 is gone.

You put in RM14,000. Today the app shows RM11,854.

You still own every unit. A unit is a small slice of the fund. Your units didn’t shrink, only the price did.

The loss is only real if you sell. So: what do you do next?

A roadside durian stall selling Musang King at half price with a queue of people, beside a phone showing a fund 15% cheaper with people walking away.

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Durian at half price? You queue. Your fund 15% cheaper? You run.

When durian gets cheap, we buy more. When our fund gets cheap, we want to sell. Strange, right?

The difference: you know how to pick a good durian. Card 10 shows you how to check a fund.

A RM10,000 bundle of RM100 notes with RM550 peeled off for the sales charge, above 97 unit tiles at the old price and 108 today, 11 of them in crimson.

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Same RM10,000. Today it buys 1,128 more units.

Before, one unit cost about RM1.03. RM10,000 bought 9,712 units.

Today one unit costs RM0.87. After the 5.5% fee, the same RM10,000 buys 10,840 units.

That’s 1,128 extra units. Same money, lower price.

A hiker on a hill trail at RM0.87, with two flags higher up: RM0.92 for the new RM10,000 and RM1.03 for the old RM14,000.

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Your old money still needs RM1.03. The new money needs RM0.92.

Your money is now in two pots.

Pot 1, your old RM14,000, is back to even only at RM1.03.

Pot 2, your new RM10,000, is back to even at RM0.92, once it earns back the fee.

A top-up doesn’t fix Pot 1. It’s a new buy. Judge it like one.

The same hill: the old RM1.03 flag faded, a crimson flag at RM0.98 after the top-up, and the hiker at RM0.87.

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The climb home was 18%. After the top-up, it’s 12.7%.

Mix the two pots and your average price drops to RM0.98. That’s your new finish line.

From today’s RM0.87, the price now needs to climb 12.7%, not 18%.

Without the fee, it would be 9.8%. The fee is the one thing you control. Always ask about it.

Stacks of RM100 notes under a sun: +RM956 without the top-up and +RM2,880 with it, the extra RM1,924 marked in crimson.

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Back to RM1.10? The top-up earns you RM1,924 more.

Say the price climbs back to RM1.10.

Without the top-up, you make RM956. With it, you make RM2,880.

The extra RM1,924 is simply what the new RM10,000 made.

Dashed RM100 notes hanging below the ground under a rain cloud: −RM3,802 without the top-up and −RM5,673 with it, the extra RM1,870 in crimson.

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Down to RM0.75? The top-up costs you RM1,870 more.

Now say the price drops to RM0.75.

Without the top-up, you’re down RM3,802. With it, you’re down RM5,673.

More money in, more money at risk. Here the top-up wins RM1,924 or loses RM1,870: almost the same. So the price alone can’t decide for you.

A roller coaster called Shares plunging from the February 1997 top: a train at −15% marked ‘you are here’ and the September 1998 bottom at −79%.

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In 1997 shares were down 15%. By 1998, down 79%.

In 1997, Malaysia’s share market fell 15%. At the time, that felt like a big fall.

It kept falling. By September 1998 it was down 79%, and it took years to come back.

Nobody knows where the bottom is. Only top up with money you can leave alone for years.

Source FSMOne: Rise and fall of the KLCI, 1984–2014 (PDF)

The same roller coaster climbing from the 1998 bottom up through a layer of clouds at the 1997 top, past a rainbow, to 1,680 at the end of 2025.

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From the 1998 bottom, shares climbed more than 6 times by 2025.

The ride didn’t end at the bottom. By the end of 2007, it was back above the 1997 top.

By 2025, it was more than 6 times the 1998 bottom. The money that went in when prices were low grew the most.

It took years, and it’s not a promise. So only ride with money you won’t need soon.

Source FSMOne: Rise and fall of the KLCI, 1984–2014 (PDF) · FBM KLCI year-end closes, 1976–2025 (Wikipedia) · Malay Mail: KLCI record close of 1,892.65, 8 July 2014

A kopitiam order slip with three ticked questions and a pen: would I buy it fresh today, is this money I won’t need for five years, would I hold through another 20% fall.

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Three questions before you top up. One “no” means don’t.

1. Would I buy this fund today if I didn’t own it? Forget what you paid.

2. Can I leave this money alone for 5 years? Keep 6 months of spending safe first.

3. If it drops another 20%, will I hold? Be honest.

Three yeses: go ahead. One no: keep your money.

Ade in his NY cap and tuxedo at the kopitiam table, the phone now lying face down beside two glasses of teh tarik.

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Don’t top up to rescue old money. Top up because today’s price is a good buy.

A top-up doesn’t fix a loss. It’s a new buy at a lower price.

Good fund? A drop is a good time to add. Not sure the fund suits you? Start with unit trust vs fixed deposit.

Want your own numbers? Send me your statement. I’ll work them out for you.

Send me your statement on WhatsApp → Or see how I work with clients

This is general information for education, not personal financial advice, and not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any specific fund. Every figure is a simplified illustration on the stated assumptions — a price of RM0.8718, RM14,000 already invested, a RM10,000 top-up with a 5.5% sales charge, and RM1.10 and RM0.75 as illustrative prices, not forecasts. Unit prices can fall as well as rise, and past performance does not indicate future returns. Speak to a licensed consultant about your own circumstances before acting. Adezeno is a licensed Unit Trust Consultant with Eastspring Investments Berhad, FiMM No. F01029300.