26 July, Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis – The Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) Global Balanced Fund Ltd., is an investment vehicle available to all residents within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). The product can be described as a mutual fund that allows ordinary citizens and individuals to access invest opportunities on the international financial market in order to create wealth.
In this week’s episode of ECCB Connects, Sekou Mark, Chief Investment Officer, UTC and Omar Burch-Smith, Regional Collective Investment Scheme Manager, UTC Fund Management Services, share details about the product. Alternatively, Mark highlights five key benefits of the Fund for the people of the region, which include market diversification, capacity building, investment literacy, wealth creation and job creation for securities professionals.
Burch-Smith explains that the UTC Global Balanced Fund is an entity that pools investors’ monies together to invest in different asset classes such as stocks and bonds, allowing them to own a stake in those companies and to benefit from the returns. He adds that this type of platform provides an opportunity for the “everyday man on the street” who does not possess the investment background and knowledge, to become part-owners of successful companies.
Mark further points out that the UTC Global Fund has a dual mandate: to democratise shareholdings and allow persons to invest in the stock market, and secondly to provide the opportunity for the region to build its own space and create its own mutual fund so that families in the ECCU can generate wealth.
Burch-Smith adds that the global reach of the Fund gives investors the chance to diversify their portfolio into many different types of securities in markets around the world. The procedural requirements for persons to begin investing is similar to opening a bank account with a minimum capital requirement of US$100 or the equivalent of EC$270.
View the full discussion on the ECCB’s social media platforms using the handle ECCB Connects.
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