Unit holders of FBN Heritage Fund on Tuesday approved a dividend payment of N10 per unit holding by the Fund for the year ended March 31, 2013.
The unit holders gave the approval at the fifth Annual General Meeting of the FBN Heritage Fund in Lagos.
The payment marks the first time investors in the fund would be paid a dividend.
The fund was created in April 2008 and managed by FBN Capital Asset Management, a subsidiary of FBN Capital Limited.
The Managing Director, FBN Capital Asset Management, Mr. Michael Oyebola, thanked the investors for having faith in the Heritage fund, which offers investors ‘superior medium-to-long term earnings’ by investing in a diversified portfolio of equities, bonds and Treasury Bills.
He said, “We would like to thank all our loyal unit holders, who have put their faith in the FBN brand and entrusted our investment team with managing their money through the FBN Heritage Fund.
“Besides the consistently strong growth that investors should continue to expect, they can now also expect a reward of N10.00 per unit dividend.”
Concerning the company’s performance so far, Oyebola explained that as of October 31, 2013, FBN Capital Asset Management had successfully turned around the N5.3bn FBN Heritage Fund, returning 28 per cent in 2012 and 15 per cent year-to-date in 2013.
He added, “Our strong positive returns are a result of our strategic positioning in the Fund throughout the year and our ability to accurately anticipate and respond quickly to changes in debt and equity markets.”
The statement of comprehensive income for the year ended March 31, 2013 showed that FBN Heritage Fund’s total income was N1.409bn, up from the N665.3m realised in the year ended March 31, 2012.
The financial statements, which were prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards, also showed that in the year under review, the Fund’s profit after tax rose to N1.103bn from N12.606m.
“The performance has been exceptional. We set ourselves a target of getting best returns for unit holders… and so far this year, we have delivered the returns we expected, but we know we can do better and we will continue to do better,” Oyebola said after the AGM.
He explained that no dividend had been paid before now because according to the trust deed, if the fund is below the value at which it was issued, dividends would not be paid.
“So, our target was to get it above the value at which it was issued in 2008 and once we got it above that, we could then make a distribution, which is what we have done. We are paying N10 per unit,” he added.
He gave an assurance to the investors that the management of the fund would continue to ensure that it delivered good returns on their investments and attract more investors.
Oyebola said the management was considering the idea of expanding the fund to real estate, among other initiatives and investment targets.
Source: Punch (by Simon Ejembi)
