Guardian ( Trinidad and Tobago )
20 May 2023 ( Page 15 )
New UTC fund only for sale in Eastern Caribbean
The Unit Trust Corporation on Thursday launched
UTC Global Balanced Fund Ltd (UTC GBFL), the first
retail mutual fund in the Eastern Caribbean Currency
Union (ECCU).
UTC GBFL is designed to facilitate wealth creation
opportunities, promote investment literacy
regionally, create employment opportunities for
professionals in the ECCU, and further develop the
Eastern Caribbean Securities Market.
Speaking at the launch, UTC’s executive director,
Nigel Edwards, said deepening the capital market
and developing new sources of capital is a necessary
link to national and regional development.
“Frankly, beyond the commercial benefits, pooling
capital in this way is an absolute requirement for us
to solve some of the infrastructure and other issues
that face our island nations.
“We know that all of this is only made possible
through building and nurturing strong relationships,
and we thank our colleagues and partners across the
Eastern Caribbean landscape for their unstinting
support for this initiative,” Edwards added.
UTC GBFL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trinidad
and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation, is an investment
company incorporated in St Lucia to operate as a
Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) in the ECCU.
According to Edwards, 41 years ago, when the UTC
first opened its doors, right up to the present day, its
guiding premise has been offering wealth creation
opportunities for all, transforming lives, and
empowering our customers to make financially
sound decisions.
Edwards added that the company has grown from a
team of 50 enterprising and passionate pioneers to
over 500 strong, serving over 543,000 unitholders
and managing nine proprietary funds, with Funds
Under Management of US$3.6B.
While noting that the UTC has also faced many
challenges and it has also recorded many milestones,
enabling progress towards financial autonomy
through the provision of quality investment
opportunities and financial education.
Also speaking at the event was regional was CIS
Manager for UTC GBFL, Omar Burch-Smith added
that the framers of the ECCU when they signed the
agreement establishing the Eastern Caribbean
Central Bank on July 5, 1983, would have envisioned
creating an ecosystem that would provide economic
stability with a stable currency, an avenue for wealth
creation through savings and a robust banking
system that would serve the needs of all.
Speaking yesterday, Sekou Mark, the UTC’s chief
investment officer, said the new mutual fund can
only be sold at broker-dealers licensed by the
Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory
Commission.
The eight countries in which the new fund will be
available are: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda,
Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis,
St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Investors in these countries would be able to
subscribe to the mutual fund for as little as US$100,
which is EC$270.
The UTC GBFL is scheduled to go on sale in the
Eastern Caribbean in June.
“If a Trinidad and Tobago investor wished to
purchase a UTC GBFL share, he/she may do so by
visiting a licensed broker-dealer in the Eastern
Caribbean,” Mark said.
PICTURE NICOLE DRAYTON-
Unit Trust Corporation Executive Director Nigel
Edwards at his office on Independence Square,
Port-of-Spain.