Kalistan

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House Ananto reports ₭1 Trillion in assets and equity for first time
Investment and Conservative Fiscal attitude Attributed for Success
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
September 20, 5667


Lady Helen Ananto-Reynolds, Skipper of House Ananto and Miramar, at office in Kaliburg

The Head of House Ananto, Lady Helen Ananto-Reynolds, released House Ananto's Financials this month, following the completion of the annual audit. The asset column contained more than ₭1 trillion Imperial Rubles in assets and equity for House Ananto, with liabilities totaling ₭128 Billion and total equity totaling more than ₭780 Billion, mostly in retained cash and House Ananto Equity in Miramar. Miramar Holdings carries all the liability of the company, consisting mainly of outstanding stock not held by House Ananto and debt carried by the corporation. Miramar owns stock in large sections of the Northern Seleyan Economy, including nearly every major Kalistani corporation, and much of Kalistan's international investments, making it one of the largest institutional investors in Seleya.

"Being a trillion Ruble Corporation is a landmark," said Lady Ananto, at Miramar's annual shareholder meeting. "Over more than 600 years, House Ananto has assiduously and carefully invested in our economy and the economy of sectors across Northern Seleya. We have not taken risky chances, we have invested in the stable institutions of the Anantonese Empire. And lets also say what we mean here: We have not been greedy. The reason capitalists fail is simple greed. We have taken a pragmatic approach to our business, and have been rewarded by capital when we need it, an excellent credit reputation with our banks, and vast and unimaginable sums of wealth. With that, our Sovereign is able to provide for her people when they are in need, invest in development efforts overseas, and ensure that the Imperial House and the Royal Family is able to pay itself, rather that take from the Kalistani people while one person is hungry, or one person is without a home, or one child is uneducated, or one elderly person cannot receive the medical treatment they need."

Lady Ananto-Reynolds said that much of the money earned in the last fiscal year was earned from stock transfers and commission on money management services. "Miramar is not only a company that holds stock, but we also have a fiduciary responsibility to provide our clients excellent financial advice and to invest their money into well crafted and hedged financial portfolios. The largest institutional investors in Kalistan have their money with Miramar, and our reputation is such that those investing hundreds of millions of Imperial Rubles trust us to make them money. We have consistently outperformed the Kalisie due to our conservative strategy by about half a percentage annually for decades. We of course take commission for our services, and that money itself goes back to House Ananto, along with profits from all other operations Miramar has money in."

Some Kalistanis have publicly criticized House and Miramar over the years, mostly on grounds that it acts as a vacuum sucking vast sums of wealth and transferring it to the Empress herself. But this is more often a moral critique than a suggestion that there is any corruption or illegal action. "Miramar exceeds industry best practices on corporate transparency," said Lady Helen. "We do all we possibly can to not only ensure our books are public and available for inspection from anyone who wishes to, but our current ledger is also made public at miramar.ks/corporate/finance. We compensate our executives enough to discourage self-dealing. We pay our dividends on time and in full. Nobody can impeach our corporate practices: Miramar sets the standard for transparency, corporate responsibility, and corporate citizenship. We owe that to our investors and to the people of the Empire. And it is a point of pride for Miramar, House Ananto, and myself personally."

Instead, most arguments revolve around the rhetorical question of "what could one person do with a trillion Imperial Rubles?" Especially when there is still a housing shortage in Kalistan's cities (a problem which is improving but is not fully resolved yet) and people are starving in even developed capitalist nations overseas. Lady Helen Ananto-Reynolds has an answer: "What difference does it make if the Empress has access to a trillion Imperial Rubles? Its her money. She is not going to impoverish herself to feed people in capitalist nations who won't even help themselves by ending the economic liberalism that is the sole cause their starvation. It's a moral hazard: If Her Imperial Majesty helps feed people in capitalist nations, it will just encourage capitalists to continue to ignore their own people. House Ananto is not a charity organization for liberals or fascists."

Now that House Ananto is a trillion Ruble organization, Lady Helen notes that it will be a much shorter time before the Imperial Family will hit the two trillion ruble mark. "Money seems to attract money," said Lady Helen Ananto. "We are currently on the lookout for overseas investments that fit our conservative criteria. As all investments carry some risk, it remains my task to mitigate as much of that risk as I can so that we can ensure a positive net return on investment. This is the touchstone principle of Kalistan's entire economy--It also remains the guiding principles of Miramar and House Ananto.

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