Barita launches new investment products
Published:Monday | May 26, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
As pioneers in the fund management realm of Jamaica's financial world, Barita Investments Limited is changing the game once again.
Last Thursday, at a breakfast meeting, the company launched two new portfolios, the Barita Income Portfolio and the Barita Foreign Exchange (FX) Bond Portfolio. Both are similar to a mutual fund as they enable small and medium investors to pool their savings in a common fund with the potential of earning higher rates. They allow investors to take advantage of investment opportunities in a wider variety of instruments, which would not normally be available to them as individual investors. Investors benefit from pooling to earn competitive interest rates.
The Income Portfolio deals in Jamaican dollars, utilising investments in high-interest-bearing instruments like government paper and preference shares. The FX Bond Portfolio deals in US dollars, its investments being in foreign currency interest-bearing instruments like local government securities and corporate enterprises of A-grade listing.
Multiple Portfolio Fund
Neilson Rose, Barita's business development manager, highlighted the benefits of both. The Income Portfolio ensures your money can still work for you while still getting periodic return. The FX Bond provides a hedge against devaluation of the Jamaican dollar because of its investments in foreign-currency instruments.
Both portfolios are part of the company's New Multiple Portfolio Fund, which, as the name suggests, allows Barita to establish an unlimited number of portfolios for investments. The launch is timely based on Government's move towards more collective investment schemes (CIS), a change from the repurchase agreement or repo system, in which the securities seller agrees to buy them back at a specified time and price.
General manager of Jamaica Central Securities Depository, Robin Levy, guest speaker at the breakfast, explained that the CIS strategy is better for investors as their money is in a number of securities, thus increasing the chance of success.
Chair of Barita Investments Ltd, Rita Humphries-Lewin, noted that CIS was more secure, as members of the scheme (unit holders) are the sole owners of the scheme's assets.
Investment advisers were on hand to explain more to interested customers. Barita executives also encouraged those interested to email barita@cwjamaica.com or visit www.barita.com to find out more.