Lm75 million investments in Vilhena Funds SICAV

Vilhena Funds SICAV plc recently held its annual general meeting, publishing its annual report and financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2005, when all six Vilhena Funds registered a positive performance.

The funds are managed by Valletta Fund Management Limited, Bank of Valletta plc's fund management subsidiary.

Addressing the AGM, Kenneth Farrugia, VFM's general manager, said that as at October 21, investments in the Vilhena Funds SICAV amounted to over Lm75 million, with the scheme providing investors with a range of domestic and international investment solutions.

Unique to this scheme are the equity multi-manager funds denominated in sterling, euro and US dollars, which delivered strong returns for investors since their launch on the market. Mr Farrugia stressed: "Through the Vilhena Multi-Manager Funds, Valletta Fund Management is providing investors with innovative investment solutions providing access to a selection of best performing funds on the market."

Following the AGM, two presentations were made to the shareholders present. Vincent E. Rizzo, from Rizzo, Farrugia and Co. (Stockbrokers) Ltd, the local fund's sub-investment advisor, gave an overview of the Maltese market during the period covered in the annual report.

"The positive performance of the equity market was primarily driven by improvements in most company financial results and a number of corporate actions, which reinforced investor confidence and brought investors back to the market," Mr Rizzo said.

On the performance of the bond market, Mr Rizzo said this "maintained steady regular positive returns, with excess demand remaining a prevalent feature in the local market". He added: "Upward pressures on bond prices remained, with the resultant effect of another good performance from local bonds."

Speaking on the performance of international markets, Mark Vella from Valletta Fund Management, said most major equity markets produced positive returns during the period under review. "The European and UK equities continued to produce strong returns, while the performance of US equities was somewhat disappointing in comparison.

"The high price of oil was a key theme throughout the year, as was the strength of the dollar, which weakened considerably against the euro in late 2004 before rallying sharply in 2005.

"Economic growth in the Eurozone was lacklustre over the period, led almost entirely by exports, as domestic demand remained sluggish in the face of high unemployment. The strength of the euro against all the major currencies during the first half of the period also had a negative impact, but this trend reversed in 2005, making exports more competitive."

On the performance of the Vilhena funds, Mr Vella highlighted the strong performance of the Vilhena Malta Fund, which from launch date on October 29, 1997, up to October 21 gave an annualised return of 10.09 per cent.

The European and UK Multi-Manager Funds, registered strong performances. Launched on the market on June 22, 2004, the UK Multi-Manager Fund delivered an annualised return of 14.34 per cent up to October 21. For the same period, the European Multi-Manager Fund registered an annualised return of 16.9 per cent.