Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1220547
12.03.2020 APS Bank has just launched its new VISA Debit Cards, offering an innova- tive, quick, secure and easy way for cus- tomers to access their money. e new Cards have a number of great original features, with a very contempo- rary design that supports the mission of the Bank, to deliver a simpler and more personal banking experience e APS VISA Debit Card is tru- ly innovative, as for the first time ever in Malta, it comes in a vertical format with a choice of four vivid plain colours (Purple Rain, Awesome Ruby, Golden Bay, Go Green) allowing each customer to choose the colour that best represent them or will make them stand out of the crowd. e card is made of PLA, a mate- rial made of 80% renewable sources, demonstrating the commitment to a more sustainable world of the Bank. e cards are also more secure, as only the name of the customer is fea- tured at the front side of the card, more confidential information such as the number of the card, expiry date and CVV number are all at the back of the card. In addition to the plain colour that will allow customers to find their card in their wallet amongst other cards in "no time", the new APS Debit Card has a notch cut-out on one of the sides to help visually impaired customers. To learn more about the new func- tionalities being offered with these APS VISA Debit cards visit apsbank.com. mt/cards. New APS VISA debit cards launched JESMOND Mizzi Finan- cial Advisors Ltd (JMFA) has announced the ap- pointment of Matthew Magro as an investment advisor at its Birkirkara Branch. is is another step for- ward in the Company's plan to strengthen the advisory team while also expanding its distribution network. Matthew has been working within the financial services industry since the year 2000 after reading for a Bachelors honours degree in Banking and Finance from the Uni- versity of Malta. He previously worked as an investment advisor with a local investment company after which he joined a local bank as a Branch Manager within the consumer bank- ing department. During the past twenty years he gained experience in formulating and man- aging clients' portfolios ac- cording to the investors' risk tolerance and requirements for both retail and high net worth clients. With his deep knowledge of the industry, Matthew is committed to continue to use his expertise in assist- ing JMFA's clients with their financial needs by giving them investment advice and providing them with per- sonalized financial solutions in line with the recommen- dations of the asset manage- ment team at JMFA. New investment advisor at Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors DURING the 4th Annual Gener- al Meeting for Merill SICAV plc, the company announced that the assets under management had now reached one hundred and eighteen million euros (€118m) as at January 2020, when com- pared to just over seventy one million euros (€71.2m) in Janu- ary 2019. Merill SICAV plc is managed by Jesmond Mizzi Financial Ad- visors Ltd (JMFA) and has four fund strategies, all highly diver- sified and aimed at generating long-term growth, despite the fact that the distribution share classes pay income regularly. During a presentation follow- ing the annual general meeting in which all resolutions were approved, Jesmond Mizzi, man- aging director of Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors, delivered a presentation to the shareholders. He stated that, the Merill Total Return Income Fund which was launched in 2016 with €15m euro seed capital from Atlas Holdings has now exceeded €38.2 million. Last year this sub-fund achieved a positive four star rating from Morningstar Inc., as it continued to perform strongly and ranked first quartile in the past three years and year-to-date as at Jan- uary 2020. Mizzi also reported that the two additional sub-funds, the Mer- ill Global Equity Income Fund, had reached over €12.5m and the Merill High Income Fund which has nearly reached the €55m mark, were launched in the sec- ond quarter of 2017. A sterling hedged share class of the latter was launched in March of 2019 in which €15m are invested, with the remaining €40m being in- vested in the Merill High Income Fund Euro share class. e investment manager re- ported that the fourth and rela- tively new sub-fund, the Merill Strategic Balanced Fund USD 'Accumulator' Share Class was launched in October 2019. e objective of this USD denomi- nated sub-fund is to achieve long term growth from a diversified portfolio of investments. Merill Strategic Balanced Fund (USD), launched with seed money of $10 million has now already in- creased to fifteen million dollars in investment ($15m). Merill SICAV plc assets reach €118m