VM Wealth Management Limited (VMWM) has changed the year-end for its unit trust offerings as it seeks to streamline the audit process while improving service delivery to its clients.

VM Wealth has 11 unit trust portfolios that are made available to its clients to gain exposure to different asset classes. These portfolios had the same concurrent financial year-end of December 31 which aligned with its fund manager VM Wealth’s own financial year.

However, VM Wealth and its parent VM Investments Limited (VMIL) have had significant delays in producing their 2022 and 2023 audited financial statements within their regulated timelines. As a result, VM Wealth has changed the year-end for these unit trust offerings from December 31 to May 31. Therefore, the next set of audited financials will cover a 17-month period and not the standard 12-month period.

“This adjustment addresses past challenges related to delayed audit completion caused by competing priorities for internal and external audits across the VM Group during the December year-end. Shifting the year-end for the VM Wealth Management Unit Trust Funds to May 31 streamlines the audit process and allows for better focus and preparation to improve our overall service delivery,” stated the April 5 notice to its clients.

With respect to the VM classic equity growth portfolio, its 2020 audited financials were signed off by its auditors KPMG in September 2021, five months after VMIL published its audited financials in March 2021. The 2021 audited financials for the classic equity growth portfolio were signed off in September 2022 while VMIL published its audited financials in March 2022. The 2022 audited financials for the classic equity growth portfolio were signed off in December 2023 while VMIL’s audited financials were published in May 2023.

VM Wealth managed US$48.945 million (J$7.52 billion) and J$13.496 billion in unit trust assets at the end of December 2023. VM Wealth increased the management fee on its four income unit trusts, property, classic protector and constant stream portfolios by 50 basis points (0.50 per cent) in January 2023.

VMIL gave an update to the stock market on Monday that its audited financials have been delayed again and should be published on or before May 31, effectively three months past the February 29 deadline. This is the second delay notice as VMIL had anticipated submitting its audited numbers by April 30.

“The reason for the delay relates to various complex transactions and acquisitions executed by the company, as part of its strategic plans during the reporting period which require external valuations and assessments to be conducted by third parties as part of the validation process in order to publish the audited financial statements,” VMIL stated in its first disclosure.

Thus, VMIL shareholders have not had an update on the company’s numbers since November 9 when it published its third-quarter report ending September 30. This is a similar situation that EduFocal Limited investors are faced with as the company has pushed back its audited numbers to May 19, the second year its audited numbers have come out in May following its March 2022 listing. The company mentioned, “LEARN continues to work with its auditors to ensure that they are satisfied with the assurance procedures.”

Caribbean Assurance Brokers Limited should have published its audited numbers yesterday after providing another delay notice at the end of March. The company did not publish an unaudited fourth-quarter report which leaves investors in the unknown of the company’s financial performance. Its annual report should be published by June 15.

Caribbean Cream Limited, trading as Kremi, whose audited numbers were due on Monday provided a delay notice to the JSE which was based on the implementation of their new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. It expects to publish those numbers by June 13 and its annual report by July 26.

Other companies like ISP Finance Limited, Spur Tree Spices Jamaica Limited, Jetcon Corporation Limited, IronRock Insurance Company Limited, Seprod Limited, Productive Business Solutions Limited and General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica Limited had all published fourth-quarter reports in February while their audited financials became delayed. Several firms should have published their audited numbers yesterday while Seprod and Spur Tree should be publishing by May 15 and May 17, respectively.

IronRock has already given notice to the JSE that its first quarter report will be delayed by a month and should be published by June 14 due to the delay in its audited financials. The JSE’s Regulatory Market & Oversight Division (RMOD) noted in its January 2024 report that considerations are being explored regarding the delay in audited financials and annual reports.

VM’s move to adjust the year-end for the unit trust portfolios is somewhat similar to Sagicor Pooled Investment Funds Limited having a September 30 year-end compared to that of Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited which is December 31. However, Sagicor Pooled Funds uses KPMG while Sagicor Group Jamaica uses PWC which creates further independence and less workload to the auditors.

Other unit trust managers, like Proven Wealth Limited whose unit trusts share the same year-end, saw the unit trust audited financials published nearly four months after March 31. NCB Capital Markets Limited’s unit trust funds had their audited financials published within three months of the year-end.