McTrust Fund plans to diversify portfolio
Investment Fund Management, Mcottley Unit Trust (McTrust) plans to diversify its investments in a bid to build a solid fund size.
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The Board Chairman of the fund, Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere said at the Fund’s Annual General Meeting in Accra that the company plans to take advantage of the pensions law currently in operation to grow the fund size.
The fund, which in 2015 recorded a return of 22.60 per cent, made a net investment income of GH¢16,144 and accumulated assets worth GH¢202,237.
After the initial public offer of the fund, it saw growth in deposits and positive responses from investors and unit holders, as its net asset value at the end of 2015 stood at GH¢223,252 as compared to a GH¢151,036 at the end of the initial public offer.
This represented a 47.81 per cent growth in deposits since inception with the price per unit over the same period being GH¢0.12.
The asset class of the fund was 85.42 per cent money market instruments while equity accounted for 12.56 per cent of the fund.
The Fund Manager, Mrs Hillary Lomotey, said the composition of the asset class of the fund did not conform to the fundamental investment policy because of equities on the domestic market which underperformed and consequently, the fund could not increase its holdings in equities.
“With the Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index recording a year to date return of -11.77 per cent by the close of the year, the strategy was to hold on with equities until the market bounced back,” she stated.
The year under review saw growth in the industry in respect to collective investment schemes in Ghana from GH¢196,793,085 in 2014 to GH¢727,626,916 in 2015, representing a 269 per cent increase over the period.
Strategy for 2016
Mrs Lomotey said its strategy for 2016 was to offer a well-diversified blend of securities to the trust in such a way that its portfolio would be well-cushioned to withstand any market volatility.
She said the strategy would seek to invest in high earning and carefully selected money market instruments while seeking growth in periods of rising markets and to preserve capital in periods of market decline and uncertainty.
She pointed out that it had the aim of providing fund management services that conformed to the highest quality standards that exceeded clients’ expectation at a reasonable cost.
“Periodic review and modification of investment and strategies will be applied to the portfolio. This will be done as market conditions change. We are confident McTrust will continue to deliver excellent returns to unit holders given our past record,” she noted.
“It is expected that with the pension’s law in operation, the fund’s size will grow rapidly to take advantage of the attractive investment opportunities available in the country. Our objective is to build a solid fund size to create diversification and reduce negative effects on the fund’s performance returns,” he mentioned.
