4 questions lodged at 2026 Djerriwarrh (DJW) hybrid AGM

Q1. Seeing as our competitors down the road AUI and DUI finally merged this year, isn't it time that we merged with AFIC? I understand that Amcil is the most nimble member of the stable and Mirrabooka focuses on small caps, but there doesn't appear to be any difference between AFIC and Djerriwarrh. What is the history of Djerriwarrh and can our board point to anything different that it does as opposed to how AFIC is run? We're both even top 20 shareholders in Mirrabooka. Does the chair agree there is an element of takeover defence in that Mirrabooka investment?

Answer: The chair Graham Goldsmith read a scripted response which included that DJW is different to AFIC with its enhanced yield approach. He claimed the Mirrabooka investment was about getting exposure to small caps. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q2. Our two sponsoring bodies from history are Goldman Sachs, where our chair Graham Goldsmith worked, and JB Were, where the new CEO worked. Could CEO Alison Gibson please estimated what proportion of our employees have some form of history with either organisation? Was it a requirement that our new CEO have some history with the group or did the search extend further afield? Also, which recruitment firm assisted with the search for Alison and how involved were our directors in the process?

Answer: The chair Graham Goldsmith took this one and estimated that less than 10% of the staff have those connections. Interestingly, they didn't use a recruitment firm to hire Alison and they approached her. It was run by a committee of the 4 AFIC stable chairs and Alison was interviewed by at least 3 directors from each LIC. A good comprehensive answer but would have preferred a wider search ahead of this inside job to recruit someone they already knew. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q3. It is disappointing that we don't disclose our voting and it is disappointing that the ASX is thinning out with record numbers of takeovers and very few new floats to replenish the ranks. Can the CEO name any takeover proposals over the past 20 years where we have actually voted against a deal that was approved by shareholders? And in terms of the current takeovers, which of Cleanaway, Northern Star, Steadfast, Perpetual, Fleetpartners, Peet, Ingenia, Reliance Worldwide, Oohmedia, OFX Group, Betmakers, Ausgold, Vault Minerals, European Lithium and Meteoric Resources are most relevant to us?

Answer: Question wrangler Clair did a good job reading all questions clear in full, besides this one where the list of takeovers got cut right back to 4 or 5. CEO Alison Gibson could only remember the AFIC stable voting against the Sydney Airport takeover and said none of the current takeover were relevant, although this might have been because the full list wasn't read out. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q4. At last year's AGM, then CEO Mark Freeman said that the AFIC stable subscribes to Ownership Matters and CGI Glass Lewis for voting advice. What is the new CEO's history with proxy advisers and does she intend to continue subscribing to these two services, ahead of ISS, which is the world's biggest and most global proxy adviser. Also, do any of our directors get to see these proxy adviser reports on individual companies or is the internal protocol that access to this material is strictly a matter for the investment team? I would have no problem with directors reading these reports.

Answer: AFIC CEO Alison Gibson said she is happy with proxy advisers Ownership Matters and Glass Lewis and has no plans to let ISS into the club. Good to hear that directors can access the recommendations, but it wasn't clear if they can call to read the full proxy adviser reports, as opposed to just being told by management what the recommendations were? Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

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