UTC wins roar of approval from unitholders

The hundreds who turned up at Queen’s Hall for the institution’s 23rd annual general meeting heard UTC chairman, Amoy Chang Pong, say, "By any standards, the results for 2004 are impressive.

"Funds under management grew by 25 percent or $2.6 billion in 2004, taking our fund total to $13.25 billion at the end of the year."

More than that explained Chang Fong, the UTC has been able to maintain this pace of growth so far in 2005, as funds under management to May 2005, have already grown by about 12 percent.

But what was equally heartening, according to Chang Fong, was that UTC grew its account base by 15 percent, crossing the half-million mark "as more people continue to recognise the stability and reliability provided by the family of funds that the UTC manages."

She surmised that one-third of the population now have a relationship with the Corporation. Also addressing unitholders was the executive director, Michael Alexander.

He announced that UTC’s Growth and Income Fund (GIF) crossed the $5 billion mark and as of May 31, 2005, the assets of that fund stood at $5.5 billion.

"Growth in fund size thus far in 2005 has been driven by strong capital inflows to the fund and capital appreciation of $326 million."

Another significant announcement by Alexander was that the Universal Retirement Fund (URF) crossed the $100 million mark for the first time, increasing to $111.23 million by December 31, 2004.

Alexander said the pension-type vehicle had provided investors with very attractive returns since it was introduced to the market in 1997.

He encouraged the self-employed to make use of the URF, to provide for their golden years. He also implored those with pension arrangements to further augment their retirement funds "as these resources will go a long way in maintaining your living standards in the later years."