16 Sep 2020 13:55
HENDERSON INVESTMENT FUNDS LIMITED
HENDERSON ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES TRUST PLC
LEGAL ENTITY IDENTIFIER: 213800J6LLOCA3CUDF69
16 September 2020
HENDERSON ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES TRUST PLC
Result of Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday 16 September 2020
Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust plc announces that at the Annual General Meeting held earlier today, all resolutions were duly passed on a poll.
In addition, the Chairman announced at the Annual General Meeting that cash now forms 60% of the Company's portfolio (as at 11 September). The Board is giving consideration as to how best to make an initial return of cash to shareholders and will make a further announcement on this in the near future. It should be noted that the investment manager is currently selling the Company's remaining liquid listed investments and has already made redemption requests in respect of its holding in funds with redemption rights. The investment manager expects the Company's cash level to rise to 70-75% by mid October 2020. The remaining portfolio, post the sale of liquid listed investments, will consist of funds without redemption rights and illiquid listed funds. These amount, in aggregate, to c.20% of the current NAV. Your investment manager is actively exploring liquidity options. There can, however, be no certainty as to the aggregate realisation proceeds which may be achieved for this remaining illiquid portfolio, or on the timeframe necessary to achieve a disposal.
The Board would like to thank the Fund Management team, who have worked hard to realise the Company's assets in line with the shareholder vote held at the beginning of July.
Res'n | Description | Votes for (including discretionary) | % | Votes against | % | Total votes cast | Votes cast (excluding votes withheld) as a percentage of total voting rights | Votes withheld |
1 | Annual Report and Financial Statements | 21,936,385 | 99.96 | 8,300 | 0.04 | 21,944,685 | 56.73% | 198 |
2 | Directors' Remuneration Policy | 21,433,819 | 98.19 | 395,733 | 1.81 | 21,829,552 | 56.43% | 115,331 |
3 | Remuneration Policy | 21,907,661 |
99.87 |
29,396 |
0.13 | 21,937,057 | 56.71% | 7,826 |
4 | Final Dividend
| 21,944,883 | 100.00 | - | - | 21,944,883 | 56.73% | - |
5 | Re-election of Richard Gubbins | 20,285,242 | 92.50 | 1,643,583 | 7.50 | 21,928,825 | 56.69% | 16,057 |
6 | Re-election of Jamie Korner | 21,485,472 | 97.97 | 444,998 | 2.03 | 21,930,470 | 56.69% | 14,413 |
7 | Re-election of Graham Oldroyd | 21,483,828 | 97.97 | 444,998 | 2.03 | 21,928,825 | 56.69% | 16,057 |
8 | Re-appointment of Grant Thornton LLP as Auditor | 21,931,313 | 99.94 | 13,570 | 0.06 | 21,944,883 | 56.73% | - |
9 | Authority for the Directors to Determine the Auditor's Remuneration | 21,927,489 | 99.92 | 17,394 | 0.08 | 21,944,883 | 56.73% | - |
10* | Authority to Allot Shares | 21,891,765 | 99.83 | 38,129 | 0.17 | 21,929,894 | 56.69% | 14,989 |
11* | Authority to Dis-Apply Pre-Emption Rights | 21,891,585 | 99.79 | 46,654 | 0.21 | 21,938,239 | 56.71% | 6,644 |
12* | Authority to Repurchase the Company's Shares | 21,933,396 | 99.97 | 6,486 | 0.03 | 21,939,882 | 56.71% | 5,000 |
13* | Authority to Call a General Meeting on 14 Days' Notice | 21,739,069 | 99.06 | 205,814 | 0.94 | 21,944,883 | 56.73% | - |
14* | Adopt new Articles of Association | 19,802,587 | 90.26 | 2,136,227 | 9.74 | 21,938,814 | 56.71% | 6,068 |
* Special resolution.
The full text of all the resolutions can be found in the Notice of Meeting, which is available for viewing at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/nsm.
For the purposes of section 341 of the Companies Act 2006, the votes validly cast are expressed in the table above as a percentage of the Company's total voting rights as at 6.00 p.m. on 14 September 2020 (38,678,638), being the time at which a shareholder had to be registered in the register of members in order to vote at the General Meeting. A vote "withheld" is not a vote in law and has not been counted as a vote "for" or "against" a resolution.
The number of ordinary shares in issue at the date of this announcement is 38,678,638. There are no shares held in treasury. Therefore, as at the date of this announcement the number of voting rights in the Company are 38,678,638.
A copy of the poll results will be available on the Company's website shortly at: www.hendersonalternativestrategies.com.
A copy of the resolutions will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism ("NSM") and will shortly be available for inspection on the NSM's website at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.
For further information please contact:
Richard Gubbins Alex Barr, Senior Portfolio Manager
Chairman Janus Henderson Investors
020 7818 2025 020 7818 6585
James de Sausmarez Laura Thomas
Head of Investment Trusts Investment Trust PR Manager
Janus Henderson Investors Janus Henderson Investors
020 7818 3349 020 7818 2636
Mark Bloomfield
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited
020 7710 7600