STANLIB Ghana Limited’s Investment Funds recorded significant growth for the year ended December 31, 2016 with its assets growing to GH¢24.4 million and GH¢21.7 million respectively for the Cash Trust and Income Fund Trust.
Returns on both funds also outperformed the benchmarks set for the year under review, as has been the case since 2013.
At its 6th Annual General Meeting held Friday in Accra, Emmanuel Asiedu, Managing Director of Stanlib, said assets of the Income Fund Trust grew by 43 percent to GH¢21.7 million, a feat, which Mr Asiedu attributed to a number of factors, including buy-in into Stanlib’s success, good governance structure, brand strength and investment team.
The Stanlib Income Fund recorded a net return of 26 percent, as against a benchmark of 23 per cent.
Investments in long term instruments were increased in anticipation of interest rate declines, with bonds making up 53 per cent of fund assets, 39 per cent in money market instruments and eight per cent in cash and near-cash securities as at end 2016.
“SIFT, for the fourth year running, outperformed its benchmark with full year returns of 26 per cent compared to a benchmark return of 23 per cent.
“This translated into full-year distributable earnings growth of 54 per cent to GH¢3.9 million,” said Mr George David Allotey, Fund Manager for SIFT.
He said the fund, which is a medium to long term fund benchmarked at an average of a one or two-year government of Ghana bond, was on course to achieve its objectives for the current year.
While they did not expect to be able to get yields like those recorded in 2016 due to the decline in interest rates, the fund currently was around 22.4 per cent, he said.
Brenda Kissi, Fund Manager for the Stanlib Cash Trust said the fund, in the year under review, returned 25 per cent, 300 basis points (three percentage points) above the 22 per cent benchmark.
“Net investment income distributed in the year also grew by 240 per cent to GH¢4.19 million in 2017 from GH¢1.7 million the previous year, but added that decline in interest rates on the short end of the market impacted the returns of the Fund in 2016, compared to 26 per cent in 2015.
–GNA