Est. 2011 · Kuala Lumpur

An institute founded on the belief that sound financial thinking can be taught.

Permata Studies was established to fill a specific gap: structured, practitioner-led financial education for adults who have already spent decades building careers and households, and who deserve teaching that respects that background.

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Our Story

Permata Studies opened in 2011 at its current address on Jalan Putra. The founder, a former portfolio manager who had taught evening courses at a local university, noticed that the adults most likely to benefit from financial education — those already in mid-career, managing household savings and thinking about what comes next — had almost nowhere to study the subject at an appropriate level.

Most short courses available at the time were introductory material aimed at young adults. Professional qualifications required either full-time study or years of preparation. Nothing in between served the person who had, say, twenty years of experience running a business, a substantial EPF balance, and a reasonable question about how to think through the next chapter.

The institute started with one programme — what is now the Substantive Investing Programme — and a cohort of eleven participants. It has since grown steadily, adding the Late-Career Planning Course in 2015 and the monthly Evening Lecture series in 2018. Over fourteen years, more than 1,200 adults have participated in at least one Permata Studies programme.

The institute has remained independent and has not merged with any larger organisation. Its programmes are self-funded through fees. There is no advertising revenue, no sponsored content, and no financial product affiliation of any kind.

Our Mission

To offer careful, substantive financial instruction to adults who are past the beginning of their working lives and are ready to engage with the subject at a level appropriate to their experience and responsibilities.

What We Value

Accuracy over encouragement. We describe what participants will learn and what they will not. We do not make promises we cannot keep.
Depth over breadth. Each programme covers a defined subject thoroughly rather than surveying many topics at a surface level.
Independence. Our curriculum is not shaped by product providers or financial institutions. Faculty are selected for their knowledge and experience, not their affiliations.
Respect for participants. Adults with decades of professional and life experience deserve to be taught accordingly. We do not condescend, and we do not simplify unnecessarily.

Faculty

Each faculty member is selected on the basis of direct professional experience in the subject they teach, supplemented by a considered approach to adult instruction.

Ahmad Hafiz

Programme Director · Investing

Spent eighteen years in equity research and portfolio management before joining Permata Studies in 2012. Leads the Substantive Investing Programme and wrote the institute's original curriculum materials.

Lim Mei Shan

Faculty · Late-Career Planning

A licensed financial planner with a practice focused on clients in transition — business owners, early retirees, and professionals moving to advisory roles. Has led the Late-Career Planning Course since its 2015 launch.

Siti Rahayu

Faculty · Evening Lectures

Holds a master's in economics from Universiti Malaya and previously worked in public policy on household savings regulation. Leads the monthly Evening Lecture and selects each session's topic and reading list.

Teaching Standards

The standards we hold ourselves to in how we select subjects, prepare materials, and conduct each session.

Curriculum Review

Each programme's curriculum is reviewed before every new intake to reflect changes in Malaysian financial regulations, products, and market conditions. Materials are updated, not simply reprinted.

No Product Affiliation

The institute does not accept sponsorship from financial product providers and does not receive referral fees. When specific products are discussed in class, they are discussed as illustrative examples, not recommendations.

Controlled Cohort Size

Enrolment is capped for each programme. The Substantive Investing Programme runs with a maximum of eighteen participants; the Late-Career Planning Course with twelve. This allows substantive discussion and proper attention to questions.

Participant Privacy

Participant details are held securely and used only for administrative purposes. They are not shared with third parties for marketing or any other commercial purpose. Participants are not contacted after their programme ends without consent.

Written Programme Descriptions

Before enrolling, each prospective participant receives a written description of what the programme covers, what it does not cover, who will teach it, and what the session schedule looks like. There are no unpleasant surprises after payment.

Honest Credentials

Certificates issued by the institute are certificates of attendance and participation, clearly described as such. We do not misrepresent them as professional qualifications or regulatory approvals. Faculty credentials are accurately stated in programme materials.

Financial Education in Malaysia for People Over Forty

The financial decisions that face Malaysians in their forties, fifties, and sixties differ substantially from those that occupy younger adults. The relevant questions are less often about building initial savings and more often about managing accumulated capital, understanding EPF withdrawal strategies, deciding between continuing to invest in growth assets or moving toward income-oriented instruments, and navigating the household and generational conversations that accompany major transitions.

Permata Studies addresses these questions directly. The Substantive Investing Programme treats participants as adults who have already encountered the basics elsewhere and who are ready to work through portfolio theory, fixed-income structures, unit trust mechanics, and ETF construction at a level that supports confident personal decision-making. The Late-Career Planning Course addresses the specific financial arithmetic of leaving full-time employment — whether through retirement, a move to consultancy, or the sale of an owner-operated business.

The monthly Evening Lecture offers a lower-commitment entry point: a single session on a single topic, drawn from questions that practitioners and participants identify as underserved in available public discussion. Recent lectures have covered the timing of EPF Account 1 withdrawals, the mechanics of decumulation for retirees drawing on investment portfolios, and the practical differences between term life insurance and investment-linked policies for adults in their mid-fifties.

The institute operates from its premises in Kuala Lumpur's city centre, accessible by LRT and monorail. All programmes are taught in English. Participants come from across the Klang Valley and, for the Evening Lectures in particular, from across peninsular Malaysia.

Interested in joining a programme?

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