Sagicor Select Funds listed on JSE

Sagicor Select Funds Limited (SSFL) listed its class B ordinary shares for the Sagicor Financial Select Fund on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) yesterday.

The company opened the listed equity fund to the public through an initial public offering (IPO) on July 3, with a raise target of $2.5 billion, with a right to upsize by an additional $1.5 billion.

The IPO closed on July 16, a day early; with a total of 20,301 applications and over $6.3 billion raised.

Kevin Donaldson, chief executive officer, Sagicor Investments Jamaica, described the listing as an important moment for Sagicor, having lead the second-largest IPO in the 50-year history of the JSE.

It also represents another step in the maturity of the local capital markets.

“We are very grateful for the investors who have shown their faith in our innovation,” he said, addressing the ceremony at JSE’S office in Kingston. “This listing is a celebration of the culmination of several months of hard work and effort to bring something that is unique and different into the Caribbean.”

“We want to celebrate financial independence,” Donaldson added. “We want every single Jamaican to benefit and experience what it is to own a business through the ownership of shares, which is the number one way to wealth creation. We believe that providing all Jamaicans with a path to create, grow and preserve their wealth, will ultimately lead to a vibrant and strong economy.”

Sagicor Financial Select Fund will track the performance of the newly formed JSE financial index, which was launched by the exchange on March 1. The index comprises 23 stocks, inclusive of financial, insurance and microfinancing companies on the main and junior markets.

Investors will be able to track the net asset value of the Financial Select Fund, the market value of the fund, and the value of the index daily. These statistics will be published on the Sagicor Investments Jamaica Limited and JSE websites.

Sagicor Investments was the lead arranger and lead broker of the IPO.

Sagicor Group Jamaica is a member of the wider Sagicor Financial Corporation, which operates in over 20 countries and its operations date back to 1840.

(From left) Reynaldo Thompson, manager — Research, Portfolio and Fund Management, Sagicor Select Fund Limited, inserts the Sagicor Financial Select Fund strip on the listing board of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, during a listing ceremony on Thursday, August 8, while looking on are: Kevin Donaldson, CEO, Sagicor Investments Jamaica; Suzette Whyte, financial controller, Jamaica Stock Exchange Group; and Natalie Brown, assistant manager, Capital Markets, Sagicor Investments Jamaica. Sagicor Financial Select Fund is a listed-equity fund of Sagicor Select Fund Limited (SSFL).