Good afternoon, everyone. It's at the point in time, so we'll get started. It's my pleasure to welcome everyone to the 5th WAM Alternative Assets Limited AGM. This is a hybrid meeting, held both online and in person here at the Museum of Sydney. I'd like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and pay my respects to Elders past and present. Thank you for joining us and for your continued support of WAM Alternative Assets. Before we begin, there'll be the usual disclaimer displayed there on the screen for you to read. I am Michael Cottier, the Chair of the Board of Directors of WAM Alternative Assets Limited, and joining me today in person are all of my fellow board members: Geoff Wilson AO; John Baillie; Adrian Siew; and Kym Evans. Acting in the capacity of moderator is Ophelia Lam. Where's Ophelia? There you are. Thanks, Ophelia. She is the Head of Finance and will help in addressing any questions received during the meeting. Scott Whiddett is a representative and partner from our auditor, Pitcher Partners, and he's with us and available to address any questions relating to the company's financial statements. It is the appointed time, and a quorum is present, so I declare the meeting open. Notice of meeting has been circulated to shareholders. In the absence of any objection, I will be proceeding on the basis that the notice be taken as read. I encourage you to read my Chair's address announced to the ASX this morning. Shareholders who've logged into the webcast with your username and password will have the opportunity to submit questions online and ask questions, as well as vote on the resolutions. If you're joining us online, questions can be submitted at any time. For those shareholders joining us online who wish to ask a verbal question, an audio questions facility is available during this meeting. For those shareholders joining us in person, please raise your hand and wait for the microphone to be brought to you. Voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business. When I open the poll, the voting icon will appear on the navigation bar. Simply select one of the options to cast your vote. If you change your mind, select another option. I now declare voting open on all items of business. You can vote at any time during the proceedings until I declare the voting closed. I will try and give you a clear prompt later in the meeting to warn of the close of voting. Through our continued focus on thematic portfolio construction, investing alongside our investment partners, the investment portfolio has increased 3.5% in the four months to 31 October. As of 31 October 2024, the company had AUD 0.162 per share available in its profit reserve after the payment of the FY 2024 fully franked final dividend of AUD 0.026 per share on the 29th of October. This represents 3.1 years of dividend coverage. That's the profits reserve amount. I shall now move to the formal part of the meeting. There's four items of business for the AGM today, as set out in the notice of meeting. Three of those items are to be voted on. The notice of meeting and explanatory memorandum were circulated to shareholders, and in the absence of any objection, I'll be proceeding on the basis that these items are taken as read. I note Boardroom are the returning officers for today's meeting and will conduct our poll. I further note Resolution 1 is subject to voting exclusions as outlined in the notice of meeting. The board recommends approval of each resolution, and as Chair, I will be voting all open votes provided to me for each resolution. We will advise the ASX as soon as the results are determined, which will be later today. You may submit any questions or comments that you have on the financial statements and reports now. So I move to the first item of business, which is to receive and consider the financial statements, the Directors' Report, and the auditor's report for the company the year ended 30 June 2024. Scott Whiddett, representative from our auditor, is present to answer any questions. No resolution on this matter is required. So do we have any questions in the room? Do we have any questions online? We haven't received anything yet, Michael. Okay. Thanks, Ophelia. So there being no further questions on the financial statements, etc., we come to the items of business for which a vote is required. Resolution 1 relates to the adoption of the remuneration report. You may submit any questions or comments you have on Resolution 1 now. Let's wait for the proxies. Proxies received will come up on the screen. For the open proxies for which I've been granted to the Chair, I'll be voting in favor, as I said. Do we have any questions in the room on the remuneration report? No? Do we have any questions online? Nothing online either. Thank you, Ophelia. Okay, so as there are no further questions or comments, I now put the motion that the resolution be approved as set out in the notice of meeting. Pardon me. If you're a shareholder or proxy holder and eligible to vote online, could you now please complete your vote for Resolution 1? If I may move to Resolution 2 now. This relates to the re-election of myself as a director. So as such, I will call on my colleague, Geoff Wilson, to handle this resolution. Thanks, Geoff. Thank you, Chair. Okay, Resolution 2 relates to the re-election. No, that's it. That's the little bit there. Where is the resolution? Actually, before we go to the resolution, have we read it out? No. Okay, this resolution is to consider, and if thought fit, to pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. It's up there on the screen. Now, Michael, do you want to say a few words? Actually, there's the microphone. John, do you want to pass it over? Just to give people a bit of background. Thank you, Geoff. Is that working? Yes. Good afternoon again. In case you missed it, my name is Michael Cottier. I was appointed as a director of the company in February 2017 and Chair in November 2018. I also serve on the Audit Risk and Compliance Committee, and I'm a fellow shareholder in the company. I have more than 30 years of commercial experience in financial services, beginning in chartered accounting and then moved into corporate tax roles and then into broader senior finance roles in financial services organizations. I'm based in Brisbane, so that will give you some context. Those organizations included Suncorp, Queensland Investment Corporation, and then QSuper in the 12-year period to 2014. Since then, I've been pursuing a non-executive director career and again, mainly in financial services. I'm the current Chair of BT Super, which has around AUD 65 billion of platform superannuation funds. Over the period since 2017 on this board, I have been here in both good times and challenging times when the board worked very hard to reset the company's future, culminating in appointing Wilson Asset Management as the investment manager. I believe I've got the time, energy, and experience to continue to contribute to the success of this company. I'm very proud of where the company is now positioned, thanks to the diligent work of both the board and Geoff and the management team over the last four years. But I acknowledge we've still got plenty of things to focus on and challenges, including narrowing the share price discount to net tangible assets, which I'm sure we'll cover. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to stand for re-election as a director and to keep working with the rest of the board to serve the interests of fellow shareholders and other stakeholders. Thank you very much for considering my re-election as a director today. Thanks, Michael. And the proxies will get the proxies up on the screen. And I know from my perspective is you've done a brilliant job as Chair, and I'm sure I'm just echoing the thoughts of the other directors from our perspective, and also particularly in terms of guiding the company through the exceptionally challenging time, which we all forget how challenging and difficult it was. So is there any—if you've got any questions, please submit them for Resolution 2. Ophelia, is there any questions online? Nothing online, Geoff. Okay. Any questions in the room? No? So for the open proxies, which have been granted to the Chair, I'll be voting in favor of the resolution. I will now put the motion that Mr. Michael Cottier be re-elected as set out in the notice of meeting. If you're a shareholder or proxy holder and eligible to vote online, please do. And anyone in the room, please do that as well. I'll now pass back to Michael to take you through the rest of the meeting. Thank you. Thank you, Geoff. Move to Resolution 3 now, which relates to the re-election of my colleague, Director Kym Evans. So Kym's biographical details were included in the materials for the meeting. Kym, would you like to make a short speech on your re-election as a director? Most certainly, Mike. Never give me a microphone in front of a captive audience. Good afternoon, shareholders. My name is Kym Evans, and I've been an independent non-executive director of this company for nearly six years, having first been appointed when the company was still called Blue Sky Alternatives Access Fund. I was also instrumental with Michael and my fellow director, John, in organising for the transition of management to Wilson Asset Management, which occurred in October 2020. I've been chair of the WAM Alternative Assets Audit and Risk Committee since my initial appointment to the board. I'd like to thank you for considering my re-election. Since having the privilege of being re-elected by shareholders in 2021, I've worked alongside my fellow directors, Michael and John, and with the Wilson Asset Management directors, Geoff Wilson and Adrian Siew, to encourage first the stabilization and subsequently the reinvigoration of the investment portfolio to set the platform for some exciting investment performance in the years ahead. The company has been revitalized over the last four years and has produced solid results for shareholders during a difficult investment period during COVID and its uncertain aftermath, which we are now only just putting in the rearview mirror. Since my election three years ago, I have been steadfast in my focus on two areas. First, on ensuring that the company's policies and processes to ensure robust valuations of investments are appropriate and effectively adopted and carried out. To monitor this process, Wilson Asset Management have put together an external investment manager scorecard by which several key metrics are tracked, including investment valuation transparency, as that is most likely one of the first casualties in the event of undisclosed negative investment performance. The second focus area is on overall portfolio construction, and I'm heartened by the gradual pivot towards increased private equity investments. These investments require patience and careful deployment of capital. Wilson Asset Management, under Dania's direction, have compiled a stellar coterie of private equity investment managers, and I am excited about the potential returns available to the company as more private equity investments are made and as these investments mature over the coming years. A little bit more about me. I've more than 32 years of experience in legal, risk, and general management across a range of private and listed businesses, providing me with a diverse skill set that benefits the company, complements the experience of the other directors, and enables me to lead the Audit and Risk Committee. I would be grateful to continue to serve shareholders in my role as a director and excited by the opportunities ahead for this company, and I am pleased to submit my nomination for re-election. Thank you. Thank you, Kym. So you may submit any questions or comments you have on Resolution 3 regarding the election of Kym Evans as director now. Proxies received are on screen. For the open proxies, which have been granted to the Chair, I'll be voting in favor of the resolution. Do we have any questions in the room? Do we have any questions online? We haven't received anything yet. Thank you, Ophelia. As there are no further questions or comments, I now put the motion that Mr. Kym Evans be re-elected as set out in the notice of meeting. If you are a shareholder or proxy holder and eligible to vote online, would you now please complete your vote for Resolution 3? I now advise that all voting is about to come to a close, so thank you. We have addressed all three resolutions, so I would now declare the poll closed and formally charge the Boardroom to count the votes. The results of today's AGM will be released to the market as soon as they are determined, which will be later today. As there's no other formal business for the meeting, I declare this AGM closed. I would like to close by thanking all fellow WAM Alternative Assets shareholders. We greatly appreciate your continued support.
Loading workspace