MAYBERRY is mainly eyeing companies that are export-driven to invest the $1 billion that it has set aside to inject in businesses that want to go public.

The company has established the fund for new equity offers on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Junior Market. It will, according to Gary Peart, Mayberry’s chief executive officer, give businesses capital that is needed for an initial public offering (IPO).

Mayberry has been the lead broker for 11 of the 16 Junior Market listings.

“We are able to not only bring companies to market by being their brokers, but we will help with capital they need to list,” Peart said.

Chief among the issues a company may encounter in the process of going public is the associated cost.

The money which Mayberry is providing can increase the probability of the IPO taking place, he said.

Listing is a major transition, which will require transparency in getting the financials together and the necessary agencies to work in the process.

Providing capital to companies is not new to Mayberry, Peart said.

“We’ve had instances where we have done our analysis and have invested,” noted the Mayberry CEO.

But, in assessing the companies that want to access the funds, Maybery has a penchant for businesses that are export-oriented.

“We want diversification,” Peart said. “We don’t want to invest in a number of companies in the same industry.”

Rather than using the money to buy into Government of Jamaica securities, Mayberry has decided to invest in companies that can give great returns, he added.

The National Debt Exchange may have dealt a harsher blow to Mayberry’s projected earnings for 2013, the company said in a release.

A write-off of unamortised premiums of $337.5 million in the company’s income statement for the year ending 31 December, 2013 has been estimated.

The company’s push into investment banking, asset management and trading will help mitigate the losses due the debt exchange, Peart said, adding that the company will continue to reduce its REPO books.

Investing would give Mayberry ownership in the companies, but Peart stressed that it does not mean the investment house will have control.

“It will mean ownership, not control,” the CEO said. “And we can still act as brokers for companies we invest in.”

Mayberry has a suite of managed portfolios covering equities, local and foreign denominated fixed income securities.

For the year ending December 31, 2012, Mayberry made $439.3 in net profit, representing a 55 per cent increase from 2011.

“Our strategy to diversify our revenues and to exercise more stringent risk management has proven to be successful for the company,” Peart said.

Mayberry ended the year with $11.6 billion funds under management compared to $10.3 billion for the previous year.