Attended the 6th AGM and 1st Investor Day of ICAP

I attended the 6th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of iCapital.biz Bhd (ICAP, 5108) as well as their 1st Investor Day today 14-8-2010. 14th August in Chinese (一世发) means "A Lifetime of Prosperity".

As usual, this closed-end fund is very considerate to its shareowners to conduct the AGM on Saturday, so that working people don't have to take leave to attend it.

The AGM this year was held in KL Convention Centre. 3 halls were taken, 1 for the AGM, and another 2 for the Investor Day event after the AGM.

Same as previous year, Mr. Tan Teng Boo, the fund manager of ICAP, presented a talk to all the shareowners in the hall right after the AGM. The latest investment portfolio of ICAP was disclosed, each of them were explained why they are chosen by Mr. Tan, and their financial as well as share price performance over the years.

These are the crucial benefits and priviledges of investing in the closed-end fund of ICAP from unit trust funds:

• There is an AGM every year, and EGM(s) when needed. Investors can interact with the fund manager as well as question him on his investment decision.
• The fund manager will disclose the latest full portfolio to the investors, rather than just the "largest holding shares as of several months ago" by unit trust fund managers.
• The fund manager will explain his investment view and strategy to the investors.
• There is chance when the fund is trading at a discount to its NAV, which is in favour to the investors as they can buy at a cheaper price.
• Investors can vote for the issues and matters tabled in the AGM/EGM.
• Investors can ask the board of directors, face to face, on anything in the report, especially the financial statements.

This year, ICAP has even go a step further to organise the 1st Investor Day after the AGM and talk by the fund manager. Companies that are in the investment portfolio of ICAP, including F&N, Integrax, Parkson, Suria, Mieco, etc. introduced their company, business and financial highlights to the audience in the hall. Beside having top management people to give talk and answer questions from the audiences, they also had a booth inside the hall.

Unlike the previous year where ICAP had a bullish view in Malaysia, this year, they are more cautious and have a more pessimistic view. If you have listened to the talk by ICAP, you should have sensed this too.

The door-gift bag this year has more things inside, including:

• 3 pens
• A Padini 20% discount voucher
• A pair of Royal Selangor chopsticks
• MSC key chains
• Fisherman's cap
• iCapital.biz printed version newsletters

The chopsticks are pretty nice, and if I have not heard wrongly, they are the special souvenir given with "prosperity" blessing by Mr. Tan our fund manager to all the shareowners of ICAP who present in the AGM.

The overall event last for one whole day. AGM started from 9am until 12pm. We are then given a pre-packed lunch box and a bottle of water. Investor presentations and talks started from 1pm until 6pm. There was even a lucky draw session at ICAP booth by 6pm.

I'm looking forward to attend the next AGM next year.