FirstBanC’s funds outperform industry benchmarks
The two mutual funds operated by FirstBanC Financial Services – First Fund and Heritage Fund – returned 36.27 per cent and negative 0.40 per cent respectively to investors last year.
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By those returns, the two funds outperformed the short-dated government securities and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), which are the benchmark indices in the money and equity markets, respectively.
The First Fund, which is a short-to-medium term money market fund, closed 2016 with an annualised yield of 36.27 per cent, ahead of the 91-day and 182-day treasury bills, which closed the year at 21.88 per cent.
The fund’s asset under management (AUM) also rose to GH¢75.81 million in 2016 from GH¢44.45 million in 2015, representing a 70 per cent growth within the period.
The Chairman of First Fund, Professor Cletus Dordunoo, said at the annual general meeting that the 2016 performance was on account of an impressive return on investment by the fund’s portfolio and continuous contributions by both existing and new clients.
“In 2016, a lot more investors signed on to First Fund. Client base rose by 21 per cent,” he said.
Heritage Fund
On the other hand, the Heritage Fund, an open-ended equity fund, posted a return of negative 0.40 per cent at the end of 2016, far better than the negative 15.33 per cent posted by the GSE in the same year.
In spite of the impressive performance, the Chairman of Heritage Fund, Prof. John Bright Kobla Aheto, said the 2016 results compared unfavourably with the 4.23 per cent return in 2015.
He said the fund’s price fluctuated over the period, trading in the range of GH¢0.3958 and GH¢0.4353, respectively, and added that “the Fund price, however, fell by 0.40 per cent at the beginning to GH¢0.4150 at the end of the period.
The fund’s AUM grew marginally to GH¢1,649,857.
“The growth in the fund’s AUM was mainly attributed to returns from the fixed income allocation in the portfolio,” he said.
As of December, last year, the fund’s portfolio was made up of 69 per cent in equities, 28 per cent in fixed income and about three per cent in cash and cash equivalents.
Prospects
Both chairmen of the First and Heritage Funds assured shareholders and prospective shareholders that the funds were poised to perform even better in 2017.
They appealed to pension scheme trustees and other fund managers to consider investing in the First Fund as it was well managed and generating high returns for investors.
In their presentations at their respective AGMs, both expressed the fund’s commitment to ensure superior returns in subsequent years and continue to position them to churn out great returns in 2017 and beyond.
Writer’s email doreen.andoh@graphic.com.gh