Today I “attended” the Annual General Meeting of Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT). This was a very good example of how to run a “virtual” AGM, unlike some I have attended recently. It included the ability to vote within the meeting and ask questions. It used the Lumi platform.
The meeting was chaired by Sarah Bates, and all the directors were in attendance and introduced themselves. Sarah “dropped out” at one point but another director immediately took over. Voting was done on a poll and only the two unusual resolutions were described (the continuation vote and remuneration policy).
The main part of the meeting was taken up with a presentation by fund manager Ben Rogoff which appeared to be pre-recorded and hence lacked spontaneity. But he is always worth listening to as he covers the trends in the technology world very well. I won’t cover it in detail as the recording is available on the company’s web site and much of it is in the Annual Report.
The NAV per share value was up 18.6% on the year and has continued to rise since the year end. Large cap stocks have been the drivers. Ben stated that the aim was to beat their benchmark by 2% and he covered some examples of major holdings.
There were only a few questions answered in the meeting. One was about the concentration of the portfolio in large cap stocks. The answer in essence was that reflects the market trend and hence has been a successful strategy. Another question was on portfolio turnover which was 87%. This apparently rose during the recent market turmoil. Only one question was on the formal business which related to whether repurchased shares were ever issued at a discount. The answer was no.
This is one of the few companies I hold where I can vote “for” to all the resolutions.
In all, a very well organised and run meeting that lasted only 50 minutes. I sometimes find at some of these events I can be doing something else such as checking emails at the same time as I have two screens on my desk, but not this one. Ben Rogoff speaks so fast and without any frippery you have to pay attention.
I would just like to highlight a couple of comments by the fund manager in the company’s annual report to give some insight into the world economy. To quote from it:
- “Our own outlook is broadly in-line with the current consensus which (we believe) assumes a limited lockdown period (2–3 months) that is followed by a recovery hampered by social distancing restrictions ahead of a vaccine in 2021 beyond which things ‘normalise’. During this time, policymakers are likely to do whatever is required to preserve the financial system. Their efforts thus far have been nothing short of spectacular. Interest rates have been slashed to zero in nearly all developed economies, while central banks have already expanded their collective balance sheet by an estimated $4trn, led by $2.4tr from the Federal Reserve (Fed). By the end of 2021, the G4 plus China are expected to have increased their balance sheets by $13tr with the Fed and the ECB balance sheets exceeding 50% of GDP. Unlimited QE from the Fed, the world’s lender of last resort, has effectively taken on private sector credit risk. Fiscal stimulus has also been ‘eye popping’ with US efforts estimated at $2.6trn, close to double anything seen in over a century with its flagship Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act worth c.9% of GDP and double the size of the intervention following the financial crash in 2008. While different countries have adopted varied approaches, total worldwide stimulus has been estimated at $15tr to date, equivalent to c.17% of the global economy last year.
2. COVID-19 represents one of those generational moments when normality is suspended. Usually, these are deeply personal moments when the passage of time is interrupted by news of serious illness or an unexpected development that changes everything. Once life restarts, for some it simply snaps back to its earlier state. But for many, the timeout allows them to recalibrate and focus on what really matters to them. Our sense is that COVID-19 will result in societal recalibration – permanent changes that persist long after the pandemic – many of which will seem obvious in the fullness of time. The success of work from home (WFH) together with challenges to mass transit systems posed by social distancing means that many of us are unlikely to work as we did previously. This may have a profound and lasting impact on demand for commercial property, coffee shops (as a ‘third space’), business travel and even the role of cities. Rather than trying to move people at high speed in and out of business hubs (with HS2 expected to cost more than £106bn) perhaps infrastructure spending should be redirected to providing nationwide high-speed Internet. If we came to dominate the world because sapiens were the only animal able to assemble and cooperate flexibly in large numbers, then in a socially distanced world the case for universal internet access has never looked stronger”.
I totally agree with the last comment. Building railways which are certainly “old technology” at great expense seems somewhat perverse.
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://twitter.com/RogerWLawson )
You can “follow” this blog by clicking on the bottom right in most browsers or by using the Contact page to send us a message requesting. You will then receive an email alerting you to new posts as they are added.
© Copyright. Disclaimer: Read the About page before relying on any information in this post.