The First Fund, a money market mutual fund achieved a yield of 37.4% in 2014 compared with the 34.6% recorded in 2013.

The return was far above the benchmark, 91-day Government Of Ghana Treasury Bills rate which closed the year at 25.81%.

This was disclosed by the Mr. Samuel Asiedu, the Chief Investments Officer of the Fund at the company’s 5th Annual General Meeting in Accra.

Speaking on the risks in managing the fast-growing fund, Mr. Asiedu stated that “to minimise risk and maximise return, funds were invested with several different financial institutions and that thorough due diligence are conducted on these institutions before funds are invested. The company also negotiates strongly to obtain optimal returns for the fund’s investments”.

The assets under management increased by 75.75% from Ȼ13 million in 2013 to Ȼ22.8 million in 2014.

The number of shareholders also increased by 27.12% from 6,977 in 2013 to 8,869 in 2014.

The company is expecting some economic difficulties in 2015 which could impact on national economic growth. 

Nonetheless, it is expecting treasury rates to remain high in the first half of 2015 as the Central Bank continues to deal with fiscal deficit.

The strategy in 2015, according to First Fund is to invest in high yielding medium to long term securities to maximise returns on the Funds while minimising risks.

The Manager will continue to negotiate rates to ensure that returns on the funds are maximised, while we continue to monitor macroeconomic indicators to adjust our strategy when the need arises.

Managers of the fund say they remain committed to effectively managing the funds to retain its award as the ‘Best Performing Money Market Mutual Fund’ in Ghana in 2014 and beyond.