HFC Unit Trust and REIT hold AGM

Christabel Addo/Elizabeth Tetteh - GNA,
Accra, June 6, GNA - The HFC Unit Trust and Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Funds, both recorded marginal gains at the close of December 2016.

This was due to the active re-balancing strategy measures put in place by the fund managers to cushion them against the negative macro-economic indicators.

Mr Peter Larbi-Yeboa, the Fund Managers for both investment portfolios, said the net fund value of the HFC Unit Trust increased by GH¢55.7 per cent from GH¢79.15 million in 2015, to GH¢123.23 million for 2016, while the HFC REIT's asset grew by a significant 36.19 per cent from GH¢45.1 million to end the year under review at GH¢61.42 million.

Mr Larbi-Yeboa, who is also the General Manager of the HFC Investment Services Limited, a subsidiary of HFC Bank (Ghana) Limited, said this in his report on Tuesday, at the 23rd and 21st Annual General Meetings of both funds in Accra.

He attributed the increases made by the Unit Trust, to the superior returns earned on the fund's underlying assets, strategic focused marketing and the sustained patronage in helping to contribute to making it a money market fund of choice.

According to him although the fund recorded an annual yield of 24.76 per cent as against 25.76 per cent in 2015, the performance compared favourably with the 12-month average for both the 91 and one-Year Government rates of 22.16 and 23.09 percentages.

He said as a result of new subscriptions, the number of unit holders increased from 25,774 to 29,763, representing a growth of 15.48 per cent over the period.

He said considering the difficult environment within which the REIT operated in 2016, the fund was able to return a reputable 18 per cent for the period, which was above the year on year inflation rate of 15.4 per cent as at close of the year.

Mr Larbi-Yeboa said with a changing trend in the market characterised by falling rates, a moderate posture was adopted in their assets allocation strategy by skewing the portfolio to higher yielding, but moderate risk assets with a longer maturity profile for the Unit Trust.

Additionally, as at the reporting date, long-term fixed deposits had the highest allocation of 69.10 per cent, with Corporate Notes and Bonds recording a slowdown from a prior year exposure of 18.85 per cent to 11.49 per cent, he said.

He however said the Unit Trust recorded a growth in its total investments from GH¢ 70,807,461 in 2015 to GH¢109,705,309 in 2016, while the Funds total Net Assets also appreciated to GH¢116,825,007, from GH¢74,492,724 in 2015.

He said REIT ended the year with a growth in the total investment from GH¢43,412,814 in 2015 to GH¢55,288,239 in the 2016, as well as a Net Assets of GH¢ of GH¢61,067, 363 compared to 44, 809,054 in the previous year.

Mr Larbi-Yeboa expressed optimism about the growth prospects of both funds and the positive returns that would be associated with them.

He said in the medium to long term the economy projected to be on a positive path, which the funds had been positioned to reap from the already implemented strategies aimed at consolidating the gains made in the prior year.

He said for the HFC Unit Trust, portfolio re-alignment would be actively pursued and secondary market opportunities sought, to generate additional income lines for the fund.

He indicated that by all accounts the medium term outlook for the real estate market was also a promising one, saying the economy was on the mend following interventions including the commencement of the three-year extended credit facility, and fiscal consolidation programme with the IMF, aimed at restoring debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability.

He said managers could therefore firmly state that the divers of growth within the sector were well primed, and the outlook for both funds were bright and promising one, urging unit holders to continue to diversify their investment portfolios for maximum gains.

GNA