PanCaribbean adds two unit trust funds
Published:Wednesday | May 18, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Pan Caribbean Financial Services has added two new unit trust products - Sigma Venture and Sigma Corporate - to its investment portfolio.
"Jamaica is an economy in transition with the Government moving away from borrowing from the capital market to where they are now taking funds from the multilateral institutions, so what we are seeing is more investment dollars available for other opportunities," said Kevin Donaldson, manager of PanCaribbean's equities unit, at the launch of the products in Kingston on Tuesday.
The unit trust market, which is valued at about J$13.52 billion, is highlighted as one of the areas for growth.
PanCaribbean is one of four companies which trade unit trust products. The others are Scotia Investment, Barita Unit Trust and Capital and Credit.
In February last year, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) lifted the moratorium on the registration of new unit trusts and new unit trust products, as it urged investment houses to rebalance their portfolios and develop business models that were less dependent on repos.
PanCaribbean is the first to announce new offerings since the lifting of restrictions, giving the company first-mover advantage, according to Donaldson.
PanCaribbean already manages three unit trust funds - which also bear the Sigma brand. With J$7 billion of assets under management, the company has laid claim to 19 per cent market share, ranking it at second place.
Priced at J$1 per unit, the minimum initial investment in Sigma Venture and Sigma Corporate is 50,000 units. Thereafter, investors can choose to add minimum amounts of 5,000 units to their portfolio.
Sigma Venture is an equity-based fund, invested in private and public equity securities and venture capital holdings, including start-ups as well as emerging and growth-oriented companies domiciled in the Caribbean.
securities
Donaldson said the tourist attraction company Dolphin Cove, whose initial public offering and market listing was brokered by PanCaribbean, is among the securities included in Sigma Venture's portfolio.
Sigma Corporate is a fixed-income fund invested in corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and debt structured in private and public companies.
Sigma Corporate, like existing funds Sigma Solutions and Sigma Liberty, is a fixed-income fund.
The new products have been on the market since April 29, showing an estimated yield of 4.22 per cent and 1.08 per cent, respectively, PanCaribbean reported Tuesday.
"These products are not ordinarily available to investors in our marketplace; the venture fund is the first of its kind as well as the corporate bond portfolio," said Donaldson.
"They both provide an investor with the exposure to a new and emerging asset class, geographical diversification, potential higher yield and growth," he said.