Boutique investment outfit BPM Financials will be transitioning its pooled investment products to unit trust funds after being granted a licence to operate a unit trust.

“We will be unitizing our pooled investment funds and placing clients’ assets with a trustee, the JCSD Trustee Services Limited (JCSDTS), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Jamaica Stock Exchange,” BPM Financial Managing Director Peta-Rose Hall disclosed in a letter to the institution’s clients.

“BPM Unit Trust will offer investors the opportunity of investing in a wide range of investment instruments, through the purchase of units in the five investment funds which we offer. This will enable investors to benefit from the overall performance of all the assets in these funds,” the correspondence outlined further.

The five unit trust funds are: JMD Fixed Income Portfolio, USD Fixed Income Portfolio, JMD Equity Portfolio, USD Global Equity Portfolio, and JMD Money Market Portfolio.

BPM pointed out that while its pooled funds are invested in a variety of assets, they are not held in a trust. On this note, the company explained that placing the funds in a trust “is now a regulatory requirement geared towards strengthening the protections for the investing public”.

The transfer of clients’ assets into trust began in the last three months.

When Jamaica Observer contacted BPM Financial Limited for a more information, a spokesperson indicated that the company will not be able to offer details of the new products until their launch, which will be soon.

Founded in 1993 by Hall, BPM Financial Limited is a licensed securities dealer, investments manager and pension fund administrator that is regulated by the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica with its main operation at Holborn Road in New Kingston and a smaller office in Montego Bay. In addition to its investments and pensions products, the company also offers loans as well as savings products in Jamaican and US dollars known as Savings Club and US Maximizer.

According to the company’s website, “Annual average growth rates for its portfolios range from 10.66 per cent to 20.54 per cent (2000 – 2018). BPM also manages a global portfolio of stocks which has consistently exceeded the performance of S&P index for the past six years.”