3 questions lodged at 2025 WAM Income Maximiser hybrid AGM
November 29, 2025
Below is the text of the 3 written questions submitted at the lively 30 minute WAM Income Maximiser (WMX) 10am hybrid in Sydney and via Lumi platform on November 28, 2025, the last possible day for June 30 balance date AGMs. The Geoff Wilson chaired and externally managed LIC has just completed a big capital raising. Market cap was $310m on AGM day. See notice of meeting and voting results with no protest votes but commendably included head count data. The placement capacity resolution was withdrawn because the market cap had moved above $300m since the notice of meeting came out. The proxies were not disclosed early in these formal addresses.
Q1. Following the recent WMX capital raisings, where does our company rank in terms of the size of the fees paid to the external manager, as opposed to other WAM managed LICs. Is it correct that the total management fees across the full stable in calendar 2025 are likely to exceed $50 million and isn't it time that percentage management fee is cut to make it more competitive with other LICs?
Answer: Geoff Wilson, 72, revealed that he is now helping himself to more than $50m in management fees from the various WAM LICs, although this one would be 3rd from the bottom out of the 9 because the percentage fee is lower than others. He said they manage $6.3 billion and broadly take a 1% fee, so that comes to $63 million a year. A screaming conflict of interest to be the chair of most of these LICs. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
Q2. How does Geoff Wilson manage the conflict of interest of being chairman of this company and the 100% shareholder in the external manager which arguably is taking excessive management fees? Isn't time we moved to having an independent chair who can lead negotiation of the management agreement without having a huge conflict of interest?
Answer: Challenged about his screaming conflict of interest as chair of WMX, which pays excessive fees to Geoff Wilson for investment decisions, all the Rich Lister could come up with was more breaches of privacy disclosing the size of my shareholding. Again. Watch video of exchange via Twitter. His election campaign speech referenced the innovation of monthly dividends (an expensive stunt) and finished with a humble “if shareholders decide” flourish. Geoff profits from retail apathy as only about 4% of issued capital voted on his election. Watch the campaign speech.
Q3. Could JoAnna Fisher detail her full history with Geoff Wilson. Does she agree that he has a conflict of interest as chair being the owner of the external manager? How hard will she push on behalf of the independent shareholders that she represents to negotiate a lower management fee going forward?
Answer: As an independent director of WMX, JoAnna should really boot Geoff Wilson off as chair of the board given that he's got a screaming conflict of interest as 100% owner of the external manager now taking $50m+ a year from various listed LICs. Doesn't sound like she is going to push for this. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus watch JoAnna's earlier campaign speech.
How Geoff Wilson saved investors from tax grabs
After these pointed exchanges during the formal business, a punter in the audience served up a Dorothy Dixer asking Geoff to summarise how he had helped defeat Labor's unrealised capital gains tax proposal. We'll never get the next 5 minutes back, but this is how it opened.
Here is part two of the monologue.
And to conclude, Geoff reckons Bitcoin often falls by 80% as he cited a punter who saw his $3m SMSF punt on Bitcoin in 2019 turn into $20m. He reckons the punter could have been bankrupted by Labor's unrealised capital gain tax proposals that he campaigned to overturn. Watch video of this bizarre claim.
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