Gold Coast welcomes moves by SEC to restore investor confidence

The Gold Coast Fund Management (GCFM) on Tuesday said it welcomes the confirmation by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it is seriously engaging it to find a lasting solution to the liquidity crisis it is facing.

It referred to the statement issued, on Tuesday, by the Commission, which stated that they were reviewing proposals submitted by the GCFM, the biggest fund manager in the country, on how they hoped to meet payment obligations to their customers and investors.

“The Commission is presently reviewing the viability of the proposals and wishes to assure all interested parties that it is doing so only in the interest of investor protection,” it quoted the SEC.

The GCFM’s statement said the Company was optimistic that the approval of its proposal would give their clients real value for their investment and provide a roadmap for other struggling fund management companies seeking solutions to their liquidity challenges.

“We submitted Cardinal Offer as an investment option to our Structured Finance Product. We believe the Cardinal Offer will give our customers real value for their investment while helping to mitigate our liquidity challenges,” it quoted its General Manager of External Affairs and Investor Relations, Benjamin Afreh,

“The Cardinal Offer will be a medium to long term, liquid and value enhancing product. It will be made up of a bond and an equity offer. The bond portion of the fund will allow customers to continue to earn a predetermined return without violating the recent directives from the commission.

By this, we are offering a solution to the SEC directive by leveraging on this investment asset”.

According to the statement, the GCFM had so far paid nearly GHS70 million to aggrieved customers and various categories of clients and it had shared details of these payments with the regulator.

The GCFM, it said, had ceased taking new deposits for its Structured Finance product from investors since October 2018, in compliance with the SEC directive to the fund management industry to stop offering guaranteed rates.

“The company is also taking firm and urgent steps to recover investments placed with other financial institutions and government infrastructure products.

“When government agencies pay contractors for work done, it will restore normal operations for GCFM”.