Proven Group to set up investment firm in Barbados
Published:Wednesday | January 11, 2023 | 12:39 AM
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Proven Group Limited plans to expand its footprint in Barbados by setting up a wealth management operation there through subsidiary Proven Wealth Limited. Proven Group first entered Barbados during the pandemic when it acquired Roberts...
Proven Group Limited plans to expand its footprint in Barbados by setting up a wealth management operation there through subsidiary Proven Wealth Limited.
Proven Group first entered Barbados during the pandemic when it acquired Roberts Manufacturing Company, a producer and distributor of animal feed, dog food, margarine and shortening, soybean meal and soybean oil, from Massy Properties Barbados Limited last year in a deal worth US$21.45 million.
“It is exciting times,” said Proven Group CEO Christopher Williams on Tuesday.
The investment firm represents a “small investment” but will allow the company to plug into a higher-income Caribbean market, he said. The move will require regulatory approval to offer financial services.
“It is not expensive to set up a Proven Wealth Barbados, because we are offering brokerage and wealth advisory services. It’s not a massive investment. It is really an investment in location and staffing,” Williams said.
Wealth management would allow the company to grow its fee business without risking capital.
In the past year, Proven Group’s equity has been chipped away largely by fluctuating asset values due to the dip and sway of world markets, amid uncertainty over global events. As of September, Proven’s capital had fallen from US$167 million to US$123 million.
Proven’s entry strategy into the Barbados financial sector, that is, building an operation from the ground up, digresses from its usual route, which has generally been acquisitions.
The new outfit will join Proven Wealth Limited, which operates in Jamaica, and Proven Wealth Cayman Limited, which was formerly known as International Financial Planning Limited, a business acquired in 2018 and now holds over US$160 million in assets under management.
“In the end, we will have Proven Wealth region one, which includes the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Barbados. It will be headed by Simona Watkis,” said Williams.
Proven Wealth region two, which includes Jamaica and The Bahamas, is headed by Luwanna Williams, he added.
Proven Group is a private equity management holding company with assets of US$1 billion. Outside of wealth management, it owns stakes in banks, a microlending firm, manufacturing, and real estate ventures across the Caribbean.