Ghana’s leading investment bank, Databank Group, held its 2019 Annual General Meetings for its mutual funds via Zoom, where shareholders participation was at its peak from Ghana and across other countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
Speaking at the General Meeting, the Chairman, Israel Titi Ofei, addressed EdIFund shareholders by spelling out the sterling performance of Ghana’s only two-tiered educational investment fund in 2019.
“EdIFund Tier 1, which is focused on helping clients meet short-term educational needs, recorded a return of 11.44%, while EdIFund Tier 2, directed at helping clients attain long-term educational goals, posted a return of 6.87%. The AUM of the Fund also increased from GHC 30.77 million in 2018 to GHC 34.69 million at the end of 2019”.
Israel Titi Ofei
The Board Chairman for the Fund, Keli Gadzekpo elaborated on the performance of Epack, Ghana’s first and only Pan-African equity mutual fund, as it closed the year with a return of -1.11%.
“This return was much better than the Ghana Stock Exchange’s (GSE) return of -12.25% and was a result of the mixed performance of African markets in 2019″.
Mr. Gadzekpo added that “Shareholders in 2019 increased to 103,487, with the fund’s holdings in South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius and Malawi contributing positively fund’s better performance against the GSE.
Essentially, shareholders were vocal about their satisfaction at the general organization of the meetings, especially clients abroad who were able to join the meetings for the first time because they were held virtually.
Shareholders entreated Databank to hold their subsequent meetings virtually, further applauding the bank for their consistency in solid fund management and for a well-organised program.
Chairman of MFund Mr. Benjamin Gogo. He opined that the Fund posted an annualized yield of 15.57%, outperforming the 91-day Treasury bill’s annual yield of 14.70%. He attributed this to the decision to convert MFund to a Fixed-Income fund in February 2019.
He further added the fact that MFund grew its unit holder base by 22% to end the year at 178,672. The Fund also witnessed a 6% year-on-year increase in Assets under Management (AUM) to GHC 633.64 million at the end of 2019
Group CEO of Databank and Chairman of Databank Balanced Fund (BFund), Kojo Addae Mensah, informed shareholders about the performance of BFund, the best investment option for retirement planning. The Fund recorded a return of 7.08% and the shareholder base increased by 7.3% to 25,263 in 2019.
On the final day of the meeting, Dr. Joyce Aryee, Chairman for Databank Ark Fund, addressed the shareholders of ArkFund.
Dr. Aryee commented on the poor performance of equities during the year, indicating that Ghana’s only ethical investment fund recorded a return of 4.30%. That notwithstanding, the Fund was sustained by its fixed-income holdings. The total number of ArkFund shareholders grew by 8% to 15,781 at the end of 2019.
Shareholders were encouraged to continue to engage with their board members and fund manager to ensure that they remain well-informed about matters relating to their investments.
