GRACEKENNEDY'S mutual fund subsidiary GK Funds Management (Cayman) Limited, launched four new mutual funds in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) last month, chief operating officer of the conglomerate's financial services division, Don Wehby, confirmed yesterday.
The new funds GK Caribbean/U.S. Equity Fund, GK Global Fund, GK Global Industry Focused Fund, and GK Caribbean Blue-Chip Fund were launched as a result of a strategic alliance between Grace and Raymond Chang's CI Funds.
"By partnering with CI Funds, Caribbean investors in any of the GK Funds immediately gain access to an extraordinary selection of funds as well as leading portfolio management teams," Mr. Wehby said.
STRENGTHENING
The T&T funds, Mr. Wehby explained, will be marketed by a network of Trinidadian brokers who have been appointed GK agents.
"We will also be strengthening our representative office down there (in Trinidad)," he said, adding: "We're in discussions with the FSC here (in Jamaica) to get them registered as soon as possible."
In October 2002, Grace launched its GK Caribbean Fixed Income Fund, the first U.S. dollar-denominated fund to invest in the sovereign bonds of the English-speaking Caribbean.
The fund is the top-performing mutual fund in its asset class, and enjoyed an 8.48 per cent 12-month yield at December 15, 2004.
During its first two years of operation, it achieved assets under management growth of about US$25 million.
On April 21, Grace listed on the Eastern Caribbean Stock Exchange, becoming the first regional company to list on the stock exchanges of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and the Eastern Caribbean.
