Page 10 - QARANC Vol 14 No 7 2013

8 QARANC THE GAZETTE
September in Liverpool. Information can be found in the QARANC Gazette.
34. The start of the Remembrance weekend is the opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey which takes place on Thursday 6th November with Regular, Reserve and Association Members in attendance.
35. Association members have marched at the Cenotaph for over ten years. It is a moving day and those who take part always enjoy the occasion. The number of people wishing to attend continues to grow and we would certainly encourage those who have not attended previously to apply for a ticket. Places are limited however and, should demand exceed availability, we will draw names for the allocation of tickets.
Conclusion
36. So, in conclusion, the Association continues to prosper. Spreading the word about how we can assist our members – whether that is:
Promoting and supporting branch activities;
Providing financial assistance for those in need;
Or supporting those who are undertaking adventurous training or taking part in representative sport continues to be one of our main aims.
Remember the Association is here to help.
Adoption of the report was proposed by Maj Wilson and seconded by Col Bates.
Item 5 - Presentation of Inspected Accounts for 2012 and Treasurer’s Report
37. The Treasurer, Miss Cranwell-Child, reported that Mr Paul Chamberlain of Chamberlains Chartered Accountants had inspected all accounts in January 2012 with no adverse comments.
38. In the Central Fund, the total income at £201,248.58 was up by £1,743.57 on the 2011 figure. Donations were down nearly £2,500 and Investment income was up by £4,258 this is due to there being a small increase in our holding of investments. We received no legacies into the central fund during the year 2012.
39. Our Total expenditure was £203,546.56 this being an increase by some £68,925.83 from the previous year as a result of there being an increased expenditure on Grants and donations of £63,381.11. Management & Administration Costs were up by £2,563.30 mainly due to the cost towards travel and professional charges. Gazette Production Costs were up by £2,020.78. Governance charges – Our audit fee was £1,350 a small increase of £50 from 2011 resulting in an excess of expenditure over income of £2,297.98.
40. Investments of restricted and unrestricted funds totalling a gain of £88,232.29 with our balance of last year carried forward of £1,987,946.27 giving us a final balance of £2,073,880.58 an increase of £85,934.31. The balance is made up of:
• Property of £106,388
• Fixtures & Fittings of £572
• An investment Portfolio with a market valuation of
£1,844,928.73
• Net liquid cash of £130,379.98
• Less Creditors £8,388.33
41. In the Benevolent Fund, the total income was £132,796.11 up on last year by £1,420.52 due to an increase in Investment income by £3,948.50. There was a decrease in legacies of £2,533.78 from last year. The Legacies received were from The Late Elvira Thomas who gave £15,000 and The Late Susan Hoppe who gave £1000.
42. Total Expenditure was £88,402.91 which is down on last year by £7,045.27. Grants to other organisations were
down by £5,778.40 on 2011 figures and management and administration was up down by £1,316.87.
43. There was an excess of income over expenditure of £44, 393.20 a gain on investments of £81,152.51 reflecting the late upturn of the market last year.
With our balance of last year carried forward of £1,895,463.21 the final balance at the end of 2012 was £2,021,088.92. The balance is made up of:
• An investment Portfolio with a market valuation of
£1,869,933.84
• Net liquid cash of £158,112.51
• Less Creditors of £7,037.43
44. The President signed the accounts and their adoption was proposed by Lt Col Findlay and seconded by Col Gillies. 45. It was unanimously agreed that Mr Paul Chamberlain be retained as the auditor for the accounts for the year ending 31 December 2013.
Item 6 - Report on the investments held by the QARANC Association
46. As you know from previous meetings, the investments of the Association are managed by BlackRock and are placed in The Armed Forces Common Investment Fund (AFCIF), which invests broadly across a number of markets, and also in Charinco, which is invested in bonds. AFCIF is a fund, valued at 31 March 2013 at £242.4 million. Its sheer size (it is BlackRock’s biggest charity portfolio) permits investments to be spread over a wider area than we could achieve in an individual segregated portfolio. There are 61 Joint Service, Army and Navy organisations invested in AFCIF but many of these units have several different sub-funds invested and so the total number of service charities involved is about 100. 47. Colonel Wendy Spencer retired as a Director of the Armed Forces Advisory Company on 30th August 2012 and the interests of the smaller investors are now looked after by Mrs Anna Sharlott of the Army Families Federation.
48. Despite the continuing Euro crisis and ongoing troubles, particularly in Syria and Mali, World Markets have taken heart and there have been significant rises in share prices. There are ongoing concerns about international debt but the latest statistics from America are positive and a climate of mild optimism seems to be emerging.
49. On 16 May 2013 the value of the investments of the BENEVOLENT FUND was £1,956,068. This time last year the value of the investments of the FUND was £1,726,643. To give you a comparison, the value at our meeting in June 2009 was £1,323,327, and so there has been an increase in value of £632,741 over four years, albeit that there have been further injections of new money.
50. On 16 May 2013 the value of the investments of the CENTRAL FUND was £1,887,818. Last year the value of the Fund’s investments was £1,702,054.05. That is an increase of £185,764. in a year.
The total value of your investments is £3,843,887.40 and of course there is cash held at bank.
51. AFCIF’s Performance over the twelve months to 31 March 2013 was plus 15.1%. The benchmark, by which the Advisory Board measures AFCIF, was plus 13.5% for the year. So, performance was better than the benchmark by 1.6%. The benchmark is designed to be a hard target to hit and AFCIF’s performance in the year 2012/13 was excellent. Just over a year ago The Investment Sub-Committee set in place a new Global Management system for the Fund. The results of this investment strategy have been very positive and the level of the quarterly distributions has risen. AFCIF was started on 2 September 2002, performance since inception