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The month of April marks the beginning of the bustling annual general meetings (AGM) season. As usual, MSWG encourages shareholders to attend AGMs and actively participate in the Question & Answer (Q&A) sessions - ask questions, and closely dissect responses made by the Board and senior management for making informed decisions about their investments.

As for PLCs, we believe they could incorporate some practices to better conduct their AGMs this year.

When it comes to investing, it is easy to buy into the idea of holding onto your stocks for long term, as advised by some stock market gurus. But you should not take a passive approach in investing. You should spend time keeping up with stock prices, news on the companies you have invested in, and even what analysts are saying about some of the stocks you own.

The better advice is to invest for the long term but to monitor and stay alert for changes that may impact the companies you invest in.

The recent reprimand served on Toyo Ventures Holdings Berhad by Bursa Malaysia Securities speaks loud and clear that PLCs must be mindful and prudent when declaring dividends.

They must be careful to ensure that they are able to facilitate the dividend payout exercise and there can be no retraction or withdrawal once a dividend is declared.