Winners of the AIC Shareholder Communication Awards 2019
Announced at the AIC Annual London Dinner last night.
The winners of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) Shareholder Communication Awards were announced last night at the AIC’s Annual London Dinner. The awards recognise exceptional shareholder communication by AIC member investment companies and their managers.
The awards were presented by the chairman of the judging panel, Simon Elliott, Head of Investment Trust Research at Winterflood Securities. The judging panel also included Tim Cockerill, Investment Director at Rowan Dartington, Moira O’Neill, Head of Personal Finance at interactive investor, Emma Sexton, Founder and CEO of MYWW and David Stevenson, financial journalist and commentator.
Chairman of the judging panel, Simon Elliott, Head of Investment Trust Research at Winterflood Securities, said: “The standard of entries continues to be extremely high and we were particularly impressed by the Best Report and Accounts – Specialist category, where the level of competition was exceptional. It’s excellent to see investment companies incorporating better design in their communications and increasing their use of digital channels.
Ian Sayers, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies, said: “As the amount of information available to investors continues to increase, the need for companies to provide effective, accurate and informative communication is more important than ever. The AIC Shareholder Communication Awards recognise outstanding communicators within the investment company industry - those who are providing clear and meaningful information to shareholders in an imaginative way. Congratulations to all the winners who set an example for the industry.
The winners were:
Best Report and Accounts – Generalist
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Winner: Witan Investment Trust |
The judges praised the winner for its enticing and clear layout, successfully reporting the key statistics of the investment company, and its appeal to a younger audience.
Best Report and Accounts – Specialist
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Winner: Triple Point Social Housing REIT |
The judges thought the winning entry was impressively designed and explained the overall story of the company extremely well. It promoted the company to a wide range of audiences and gave excellent detail on the portfolio holdings.
Best Report and Accounts – VCT
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Winner: British Smaller Companies VCT2 |
The panel felt the winning report and accounts had a clear layout and used simple graphics and fonts to explain an array of important information in a very effective manner.
Best Factsheet
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Winner: The European Investment Trust |
The winning factsheet was thoughtfully designed, easy to read and clearly laid out. It contained the right level of key information that investors might need in a concise format.
Best PR Campaign
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Winner: Henderson International Income Trust |
The judges felt the campaign was based on in-depth research which generated a significant amount of press, including strong national coverage.
Best Marketing Campaign
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Winner: F&C Investment Trust/BMO Global Asset Management for celebrating 150 years of F&C Investment Trust |
The panel praised the winner for its focus on education and looking both backwards and forwards as they celebrated its landmark year. The judges were impressed by the variety of channels the campaign used to reach audiences, especially the series of educational events. The judges noted that the campaign had clearly been a success, evident in the subsequent narrowing of the company’s discount and successful share issuance. The judges felt that the campaign demonstrated leadership, and hopefully will encourage other companies to do the same in the future.
Best Website – Individual Investment Company
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Winner: Witan Investment Trust for http://www.witan.com |
The judges thought the winning website had a modern feel whilst maintaining ease of use. It was easy to find all the information and included a high level of detail.
Best Website – Fund Management Group
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The winning management group skilfully maintained an engaging, attractive and user-friendly design across their website, whilst giving each investment company its own distinct character.
Best Social Media
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Winner: Augmentum Fintech |
The winner’s social media strategy was clearly thought out in relation to its target audience. It was active, issuing updates and information at an impressive rate and the corresponding performance metrics were also striking.
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Notes
- The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) was founded in 1932 to represent the interests of the investment trust industry – the oldest form of collective investment. Today, the AIC represents a broad range of closed-ended investment companies, incorporating investment trusts and other closed-ended investment companies and VCTs. The AIC’s members believe that the industry is best served if it is united and speaks with one voice. The AIC’s mission statement is to help members add value for shareholders over the longer term. The AIC has 359 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £191 billion.
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