267694 EdinburghIT AR 2024 WEB - Flipbook - Page 9
THE EDINBURGH INVESTMENT TRUST PLC / OVERVIEW / 7
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (‘AGM’)
LONDON RETAIL SHAREHOLDER EVENT
This year’s AGM will take place on Wednesday 17 July 2024
at 11.00 a.m. at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. The Board
looks forward to meeting as many shareholders there as
possible. As usual there will be votes on resolutions as set
out on pages 78 to 81 of this report. I encourage shareholders
to vote in person at the AGM or through the proxy facility
on the voting card. The holders of shares on investment
‘platforms’ should be able to vote through their service
provider. After the voting, there will be a presentation by
the Portfolio Manager. There will also be an informal lunch
and a chance to meet a range of colleagues and advisors
that manage the Company on a day-to-day basis. For those
unable to attend in person, the AGM will be streamed online,
with the ability to post questions live into the meeting. The
link for electronic access will be displayed prominently on
the Company’s website.
We will host a presentation to shareholders at the Royal
Society of Arts on 9 October 2024 at 11am. This will be
another chance to meet the Board, Portfolio Manager and
other members of the team. Further details will be posted on
the Company’s website in due course.
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION (‘ARTICLES’)
The Board is recommending that the Company adopt new
Articles of Association (the ‘New Articles’). A description
of the proposed amendments being introduced in the New
Articles is set out on page 44. The proposed changes seek to
update the Company’s approach to share register dormancy
in line with modern practice, and, the Board believes, good
corporate governance. The amendments seek to achieve
this by reducing the periods until unclaimed dividends and
shares of untraced shareholders are forfeited. Under the
current articles, this period is twelve years of dormancy and
the Board proposes to reduce it to eight years.
The New Articles would also permit the Company to engage
a professional asset reunification company or other tracing
agent to locate untraced shareholders. If the Company’s
attempts to trace shareholders are unsuccessful after the
proposed eight year period, forfeited shares would be sold
and, according to the proposed New Articles, the proceeds
of sale may be used for investment purposes or for charitable
or good causes.
Finally, the New Articles facilitate the removal of cheques as
a method to pay dividends. The Board will keep this under
consideration, and will only remove this option having given
shareholders notice of its intention to do so.
OUTLOOK
As you will see from the Portfolio Manager’s report,
enthusiasm for the underlying holdings of the Company is
supported by strong operational performance and attractive
valuations. Many UK equity market constituents in the
Company’s portfolio continue to stand at a valuation discount
to their international peers. These valuation anomalies are
being exploited by the companies themselves, through
share buybacks, and also from time to time by takeovers by
third parties. Whether through these two types of action, or
through simply greater demand for UK equities over time,
your Company is well placed to continue to meet its two key
objectives and generate attractive returns for shareholders.
ELISABETH STHEEMAN / Chair / 24 May 2024
