GK Capital Management and Trinidad & Tobago Unit Trust Corporation partner to offer three new funds for Jamaican Investors
The AC Hotel in Kingston was abuzz with the spirit of Caribbean partnership on Monday, March 6, as GK Capital Management, the investment and advisory arm of GraceKennedy Limited (GK), and the Trinidad & Tobago Unit Trust Corporation (TTUTC) officially launched their new Collective Investment Scheme – GK Mutual Funds.
At the vibrant event, the two regional giants in the financial services sector unveiled their latest innovations – the GK US Dollar Income Fund, the GK Jamaican Dollar Money Market Fund, and the GK Jamaican Dollar Growth & Income Fund – which will offer Jamaican investors innovative products focused on consistency and stability, with the goal of sustainable wealth creation.
GK Group CEO, Don Wehby commented, “GK Mutual Funds boasts a combined 141 years of experience and commitment to offering innovative solutions which add value at every level of society, [combining] GK’s 101-year legacy of service to the people of Jamaica and the communities we serve around the world, with TTUTC’s 40 years of expertise managing the largest unit trust portfolio in the Eastern Caribbean. Together, GK and TTUTC will seed the funds with over US$20 million, and I am happy to witness our organizations coming together in this way in the interest of Jamaican investors.”
He continued, “When the Government of Jamaica articulated its financial inclusion strategy, GK took it as an organisation-wide challenge to create solutions that would give all Jamaicans access to traditional financial services to pursue their goals. GK Mutual Funds are one such solution which helps us achieve this.”
TTUTC Chairman Jo-Anne Julien drew a comparison between her organization’s founding purpose and their new venture with GK, “Just as the UTC was established 40 years ago in Trinidad and Tobago to create opportunities for collective investment that were accessible to the everyday citizen, the aim of this initiative is to bring similar opportunities for participation in the investment arena to every Jamaican household.”
In a symbolic showing of the strength of their partnership and common interest in serving a new segment of the Jamaican financial service market, TTUTC Executive Director Nigel Edwards and Deputy CEO of the GK Financial Group, Steven Whittingham unveiled the new Mutual Funds products together.
“We’re excited about what this will mean for the Jamaican people, the opportunities that it will open up, and what new vistas await. With this partnership we are building a future and a legacy that will belong to all of us, and of which we can all be proud,” Edwards commented.
“We identified synergies in our operations that we believe will deliver real value to our customers. The main one being our shared core value of trust. Trust is the common ground on which we present to you today. It is the currency that has sustained our businesses and one that punctuates all that we do,” Whittingham explained.
The GK Mutual Funds launch follows the signing of a joint venture agreement between GK and TTUTC in May 2022, making GK Capital the exclusive sales agent for all GK/UTC Mutual Funds/Unit Trusts in Jamaica.