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There's another listed investment company keeping fund manager Geoff Wilson busy.Wilson Asset Management's Geoff Wilson has got a couple of LICs keeping him busy. James AlcockAs Wilson agitates for change at ASX-listed Contango Income Generator Ltd, there's a spot fire in a different LIC he's associated with that needs some attention.And this time, he's on the other end of the agitation.A substantial shareholder notice was lodged with the Watermark-managed Australian Leaders Fund on Monday, that popped up on the ASX on Thursday. And within that notice is a sign of rough weather ahead for ALF and its board.
The group of shareholders – including former Rothschild managing director David Kingston – want ALF to enact serious change and are nominating two people to its board at its AGM in a few months to make that change happen. According to the shareholder notice, the fed-up investors have nominated ex-BT Australia boss Rob Ferguson and former Grant Samuel investment banker Malcolm McComas to ALF's board, which counts Wilson as a non-executive director.
The shareholders' concerns primarily stem from ALF trading at a discount to its net tangible assets since mid-2017. According to a quarterly report released in August, ALF was sitting on a pre-tax NTA of $1.14 as of July, while its share price hovers around 90¢.While the notice doesn't go into what change Kingston and co want to see, it is understood one option they wouldn't be opposed to would be winding up ALF and returning funds to shareholders. ALF manages about $200 million.Kingston has been agitating for change in ALF since the start of the year, when he sent a letter to Wilson and ALF's board titled "TIME'S UP".
The shareholder activism at ALF comes at the same time Wilson tries to shake up the Contango LIC and install himself on its board, as well as appoint Wilson Asset Management as the fund's manager.In regards to the board nominations, Wilson told Street Talk that it was "always good having smart people on the board" and the decision whether to vote them in was up to shareholders."We know what 5 per cent of shareholders think, it'll be interesting to hear what 95 per cent think."
