The total assets of CSE-listed Investment companies fell to EUR 587.41 mln by the end of June, down 22% or EUR 165.8 mln since the start of the year in one of the steepest declines since the stock market crash of 2002, according to an exclusive survey carried out by the Financial Mirror.
Compared to a year ago, the decline in total assets reached EUR 156.5 mln from EUR 744 mln reached by the end of June 2007. On a quarter-to-quarter basis, however, the situation appears to be better, since the Financial Mirror survey found that the losses in the second quarter have narrowed to EUR 17.5 mln only.
This is mostly because of the 3% gain recorded by Bank of Cyprus in the second quarter, which has been instrumental in helping investment companies with a larger exposure to the bank’s shares trading on the Cyprus as well as the Athens Stock Exchange to benefit.
The largest
Demetra Investments (DEM) remains the largest fund in Cyprus with total assets of EUR 227.9 mln by end-June 2008. Though on an annual basis, Demetra lost EUR 45 mln, but on a quarterly basis, it is the only fund among the majors to record a positive performance, mostly because of its exposure to BOC shares and its prudent diversification into other assets, as well as significant holdings in cash.
Interfund slips
Interfund (INF) lost its position as the second largest fund due to very bad performance, as it lost a whopping EUR 29.9 mln and its total assets as at June 30, 2008 amounted to EUR 61.4 mln, down sharply from EUR 91.3 mln a year ago.
Interfund’s overall performance was the third worst among the majors, shedding 32% of its net asset value (NAV).
This may also help explain its pathetic performance and probably why the market has forced the stock sharply lower to trade at a 53.87% discount to its latest price on July 21, trading on the Cyprus Stock Exchange.
Since the start of the year, Interfund shares are down a whopping 58% and are trading at the record low of the year.
Positive
Other investment companies have also produced a similar negative performance, but its worth noting that Athena Investments (ATH), having lost only 20.7% in its NAV performance, managed to lift itself into second position in terms of largest investment fund in Cyprus.
Among the major funds, or those with assets in excess of EUR 30 mln, Cytrustees recorded the worst performance in terms of NAV change, shedding 36.3% year-on-year.
Two funds, however, managed to increase their total asset size. Finikas (CONF) lifted its total assets by EUR 6.3 mln due to a capital increase, while Unigrowth (UNI) increased its assets by EUR 373.000 to EUR 5 mln.
Discount remains
The Financial Mirror survey found that of the 18 companies listed on the CSE, only three traded at a premium to their NAV, while the majority trade at discounts ranging from 20 to 70%.
The average discount for all 18 companies covered in the survey is 30.8%. Among the majors, Jupiter is trading at a 72% discount to NAV, followed by Demetra at a 60% discount to NAV based on July 21 prices. The discount factor for the other widely-held investment companies such as Athena is 56%, Cytrustees 36%, Dodoni 50% and for Apollo 49%.
Oddly enough, a number of funds, mostly small or those with assets below EUR 12 mln are trading at a premium. Triena Investment capital shares are trading at a premium of 2% to NAV, Unigrowth is at a 28% premium, Ischis 50% and Harvest at a 15% premium.
