THE 'MONEY Expo 2004' put on by Today's Money Limited at the Hilton Kingston Hotel in New Kingston yesterday attracted a vast crowd eager to find out how best to make their money work for them.
The exhibition had some two-dozen exhibitors representing the banking, insurance, stock brokerage, credit union and real estate sectors. A number of statutory bodies and quasi-government bodies also had booths at the exhibition; these included HEART Trust, the National Development Foundation of Jamaica, the Planning Institute of Jamaica and Statistical Institute of Jamaica STATIN.
In organising Money Expo 2004, Today's Money's principal aim was to highlight and provide information on the services and products of leading financial institutions under one roof along with presenters drawn from the exhibitors who discussed a range of money management issues.
Today's Money produces business programmes in the media and provides a database on business developments and statistics Perhaps the most popular booth was that of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).
CURIOUS ONLOOKERS
With a digital video display presentation, the booth attracted curious onlookers who quizzed the representative, Tiane Daley, on the role of the stock exchange, how to buy stocks and the mechanics of investing in the stock market.
No doubt the popularity of the JSE booth was influenced by the frenzied activity on the stock market since January. The JSE index has appreciated by almost a 150 per cent since January, peaking at the magical 100,000 points in April. Expos like these are quite relevant.
Speaking to a number of persons, one got the impression that persons believed that it was quite easy to 'get rich' overnight. If the Expo can educate the public to understand that the real route to financial independence is through information and sustained savings, it would have taught them an intangible but invaluable lesson.
The presentations at the Expo covered a diverse range of topics including:
The present Bull run on the stock market.
The need for life insurance.
How to create wealth.
Protecting your assets.
Buying a house and "Diversify-ing investments outside Jamaica.
Financing small businesses.
Unit Trusts.
Borrowing to invest.
Financing exports and manufacturing.
