BOV Asset Management Limited (BOVAM) organised another training programme in London for Bank of Valletta plc ’s (BOV) staff, following the successful programme previously held during November of last year. A group of four BOV employees representing the top performing BOV Investment Centres and BOV Wealth Management, were nominated to attend a two-day training programme at Insight Investment Management (Global) Limited and Fidelity International.

During their visit, BOV employees had the opportunity to meet Mr Ulrich Gerhard, the Investment Manager of the Vilhena High Yield Fund (“The Fund”).  This Fund invests predominately in non-investment grade bonds and is widely popular within the investment’s community. The Investment Manager gave an overview of the Fund’s current exposures and explained how the Fund has recouped the negative performance stemming from the volatile market experienced during last year.  Mr. Gerhard highlighted the fact that the Fund seeks to invest in strong companies that would have no difficulty in paying back both the coupon and capital when due and in companies that deliver good return to investors.  The Fund is currently yielding an income of 6.22% per annum, as at 2nd May 2023. The team also visited the Bank of England Museum, which displays the history of the bank and its role in today’s economy.

During this training programme, the team also attended presentations at the Fidelity International offices in London. Last year, BOVAM were appointed as the official representatives for Fidelity Funds in Malta.  Ms Izzi Halewood, Fixed-Income Senior Investment Specialist, delivered a presentation on the Fidelity Sustainable Strategic Bond Fund, a fund which adopts a sustainable focused strategy, where the majority of the fund invests in companies that maintain sustainable characteristics within the ESG spectrum (Environmental, Social & Governance). The team also attended a presentation on the Fidelity Sustainable Eurozone Equity Fund by Ms. Aela Cozic, Assistant Portfolio Manager.  This fund invests at least 70% of its assets in securities of issuers with favourable ESG characteristics and up to 30% in securities of issuers with improving ESG characteristics.

BOV employees participating in this training programme, expressed their appreciation towards the Company’s initiative, stating that “These experiences help in gaining further understanding of the world of investments on a much larger scale.”  BOVAM will continue to support the Bank’s representatives with regular market and fund updates and is proud to announce that it has planned another training programme in London at the end of the year.

The writer and the company have obtained the information contained in this document from sources they believe to be reliable, but they have not independently verified the information contained herein and therefore its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The writer and the Company make no guarantees, representations or warranties and accept no responsibility or liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this document. They have no obligation to update, modify or amend this article or to otherwise notify a reader thereof if any matter stated therein, or any opinion, projection, forecast or estimate set for the herein changes or subsequently becomes inaccurate. The Vilhena Funds SICAV plc is licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority and qualifies as a UCITS. Any investments in any of the funds mentioned herein plc should be based on the full details of the Prospectus, Offering Supplements and KIDS, which documents may be obtained from the Company, Bank of Valletta plc branches and investment centres and other licensed financial intermediaries.  BOV Asset Management Limited is licensed to conduct investment services in Malta under the Investment Services Act  (Cap.370 of the laws of Malta) by the Malta Financial Services Authority. Issued by BOV Asset Management Limited, registered address 58, Triq San ¯akkarija, Il-Belt Valletta, VLT 1130, Malta. Tel: 2122 7311, Fax: 2275 5661, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.bovassetmanagement.com. Source: BOV Asset Management Limited.