The 13th Annual General Meeting of APS Funds SICAV plc was held on 5th May 2021 under the chairmanship of Mr Tony Mejlaq. In keeping with Covid-19 pandemic public health requirements and as permitted by regulations, the Meeting was held privately and livestreamed. All of the resolutions submitted for shareholder approval were adopted with votes being cast remotely.
Over the year ended 31 December 2020, total assets grew from €171 million to €181 million. The challenging economic and market backdrop seen over the course of the year resulted in the sub-funds delivering different performance. The price of Accumulator Shares in the Income Fund fell by 1.85% whilst that in the Global Equity Fund rose by 5.24%. The Class C Accumulator Shares in the Regular Income Ethical Fund and the Diversified Bond Fund increased by 1.38% and 2.45% respectively.
The first quarter of 2021 saw assets under management continuing to grow, a period characterised by countries adopting different strategies to fight the pandemic and reflected in asset classes behaving differently. For example, most major international equity indices rose in contrast with Malta’s, as a result APS funds performed differently. The Accumulator shares in the Income Fund fell by 1.49% and the Global Equity Fund rose by 5.61%. The Class C Accumulator Shares in the Regular Income Ethical Fund rose by 1.37% whilst the Diversified Bond Fund fell by 0.63%.
Despite the prolonged challenging economic and market conditions, it is the expressed intention of the SICAV Board and the Manager, ReAPS Asset Management Limited, to grow further the APS Funds business. The meeting was accompanied by presentations from David Lanzon and Michael Tabone, Portfolio Managers at ReAPS, who also gave an overview of the investment strategies being adopted for 2021.
The Annual General Meeting saw the retirement of Mr Joseph Portelli as director, who expressed his intention not to stand for re-election after serving uninterruptedly since 2015. The Board thanked Mr Portelli for the valuable contributions made during his tenure and wished him well for his future endeavours. Dr Graziella Bray was appointed in his stead. Messrs Tony Mejlaq and Etienne Borg Cardona were re-confirmed as Directors of APS Funds SICAV p.l.c. Deloitte Audit Ltd as auditors of the Company were re-confirmed as directors.
Follow the AGM proceedings and presentations to shareholders webcast on 5 May 2021 on the corporate website (apsfunds.com.mt/agm2021/#webcasts).