Scotia Investments was the top performing unit trust in 2017.
The Jamaica stock market enjoyed strong growth between 2015 and 2017 with several stocks recording more than 100 percent gains in each of the years. The vast majority of Jamaicans have not participated in the gains offered by the market.
The vast majority of Jamaicans have not enjoyed the benefits of investing directly in the stock market because they do not fully understand it while some are just scared to lose their money. Many investors have taken the hassle or concerns out of investing directly in stocks by investing in equity based unit trust schemes that have delivered better gains than those in the fixed income market.
For while the combined market index of the Jamaica Stock Exchange racked up gains of 43 percent in 2017, the top performing equity based fund, Scotia’s Premium Growth Fund recorded gains of 37 percent for their investors in 2017 on top of a 25 percent gain in 2016. The Scotia Fund displaced Barita’s Capital Growth Fund, the 2016 front runner that ended at number 6 in 2017, delivering a 21.5 percent return, down slightly from 26.7 percent in 2016
Many investors have benefit from the strong performance of the local stock market in a number of ways. Pension funds that a large number of Jamaicans are members of, hold shares of many companies on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). There are also insurance company funds that rely on the shares as part of their investment portfolios. The National Insurance Scheme also invests in these companies and many more Jamaicans benefit from the market’s performance than they may be aware of. Others persons invest through unit trusts to enjoy the growth in the market and thus lower their risk. How does this work?
Barita Unit Trust equity drop from #1 in 206 to 6th spot in 2017 with a gain of 21.5%
A unit trust is a pooled investment scheme that allows anyone without expert knowledge and time to invest in a diverse portfolios of most stocks, to invest in them and therefore benefit from the gains that the funds can deliver. The investments, which comprise local and foreign equities, bonds, corporate paper, government securities, real estate, among others, are professionally managed to optimize gains for the investor.
Investing in a unit trust is an attractive option as the portfolios are not only diverse but they also cater to those with or without an appetite for risk. A few of the benefits to be derived are tax free gains, depending on the portfolio, lower levels of market volatility given the mix of securities in each portfolio as well as other perquisites.
From year to year, the performance of investments in equity based unit trust funds may in part reflect the highs and lows of the economy, the percentage share of investments in the local stock market shares and fixed income funds. Most importantly, the management of the funds can make a big difference as can be seen from the varied performance of funds in Jamaica. Additionally, in recent years there have been new players entering the market and new products being offered, thereby creating greater diversity so as to capture new investors and a greater share of the market of the non-investing market.
At present, there are eight schemes managed locally, namely Barita Unit Trust, JMMB Fund Managers, JN Fund Managers, NCB Capital Markets, Proven Fund Managers, Sagicor Investments, Scotia investments Jamaica and Victoria Wealth Management. All offer varied slate of funds denominated in Jamaican dollars and US dollars. Sagicor Investments has fifteen (15) portfolios, the most diverse of all, followed by Barita Unit Trust, JMMB and NCB, VM, Scotia and newcomer Proven.
Funds under management as at October 2017 stood at $229 billion with Sagicor still commanding the lion’s share with Scotia and NCB holding their double-digit portion while the others shared the remainder of the pie.
In the next article, IC Insider.com will look at the performance of the unit trust equities’ portfolio in 2017 compared to previous years to give investors a better view of the best performing funds.
A decision to purchase or sell shares is usually communicated to the stockbroker by investors on a daily basis. This may be done by telephone, email or in person. Increasingly the broker are requiring their clients to commit their orders in writing.
Opening a brokerage account will require the investor to provide the broker with relevant information so that they have information on each of their clients. These include IDs, addresses with verification of it, references to name some of the items. for new investors brokers will usually require a deposit on the purchase.
Cryptocurrencies have spawned many millionaires but most persons don’t know how they work and why the prices keep surging upwards in spectacular fashion. 
Bitcoin mining is a process where computers are used to verify a block of transactions along the bitcoin blockchain, which are then put through a process that applies a mathematical formula to them. That then turns the block into a random sequence of letters and numbers known as a “hash.” The hash is stored along with the block, at the end of the blockchain, at the point in time it is authenticated.
Investors should refrain from the fad of following the leader blindly. In 2013 ICInsider.com posted a report on the 
Markets have a way of telling stories that confound many. In May 2014of that year, the local market declined to reach 76,344.27 points on June 23, after reaching 86,590 points in mid-March.
The question of the week comes from one of IC Insider.com’s readers. “ I’m trying to understand more about investing and would like to know about buying stocks at the IPO price, selling when they go up and then buying when the prices settles lower? Does it make sense to do so? 
Do you really know your adviser?
Berger Paints is worth more than $20 per share.
The directors of Berger Paints should have their resignation letters ready for signing after in early October, as their continuing service will be in conflict with the recommendation they gave minority shareholders who seem set to rebuff it.
One of the critics wrote, “I looked over their prospectus the very day it was released and came to the very same conclusion that this price is pie in the sky!! I have a degree in Finance and I invest in companies on the JSE, including Mayberry and I think this is a sad day in IPO valuation. They had the opportunity to set the standard for the Jr. JSE and they are muggin it up. The conclusion I draw from their pricing is that they take the Jamaican investor for idiots, like so many companies in Jamaica. And they are playing on peoples’ greed. I would love to invest in this company and if it hits the market I will wait for the price to realign to it’s proper valuation before buying.”
In response to my article saying the market is huge the reader had this to say,“How is the market huge when this company’s business model caters to small and micro business sector? Take an informal survey on how many micro business have pulled down their shutter since the year started. If I did not have access to information I might have called you for guidance as a stockbroker, what a disappointment that would have been.”
Investors need to be adequately informed as there are wolves out there to help snatch valuables from them. Salada Foods is a very profitable entity after the broker to a takeover offer and audit firm recommended shareholders to sell their shares for an undervalued amount back in the 1980s. According to the auditor, the plant was obsolete and coffee powder was no longer accepted by consumers. The broker suggested that minority shareholders will have to eat their shares for their stupidity in not accepting the offer. Three decades on and the company remains profitable and debt free and those shareholders who held their shares have done extremely well by doing so. I wrote at the time of the offer that it was unfair. I gathered that the chairman Mr. Charles Ransom at the time, on a flight back to Jamaica, dammed John Jackson for killing the offer, when he saw the story that was highly critical of the offer. That was a few days before the vote that rejected the offer.
In 2010 the first Junior Market listing IPO was condemned outright by a featured article in the Friday Business Observer, followed by a series of comments by doomsayers. The arguments against the offer were so uninformed that I wrote an article defending it fully.
And yet another investors comments, “Mr. Jackson everyone has a right to his or her opinion, you Sir should have done your homework. I am not a stock broker, but I was interested in the offer and did my research, after reading the Prospectus I decided not to take up the offer.”
“Look at likely future earnings, the future of Access Financial looks BAD. WHAT IS THEIR BUSINESS??? SUB-PRIME LOANS. In the USA a company such as this would be called a predatory Lender. The business model looked okay 3 to 4 years ago, but now it just looks dismal. Most of the clients the forward looking statement alludes to are people who live paycheck to paycheck. With all the talk of layoffs and cutback in the Jamaican economy, how does the principal of Access expect their business to grow?”
“One point made in the prospectus is that Government does not regulate this particular company, and therefore they can keep their interest rate on their products higher. Look at the percentage of bad loans recorded for 2008, and then compare that to the 9.09% projected non-performing loans in the prospectus. Come now Mr. Jackson, does this sound right to you?”
My current response, they made a big mistake in reading the prospectus first, as they would have done far better had they done the right thing. One investors who was advised to buy, did just that and enjoyed wonderful returns.
Earlier this year, a brokerage house was recommending Cargo Handlers as a buy in the $20 range when the PE ratio was in the 50 region. Another last year recommended investors sell Barita Investments, saying the stock was not worth much more than just over $2. Where are these two stocks at presently? One is much lower than the recommendation and one much higher? And for naysayers in Access Financial who cause a number of persons to stay out of Access, they may have learnt from the experience, hopefully as the stock now trades at the equivalent of $460 per share and never fell below the issued price once. In addition investors have reaped a large amount in dividends and the growth goes on. The Berger Paints recommendation to sell is just another of those poor valuations done by persons who don’t really know how to value listed companies. The market will speak in a few weeks on this.