VM INVESTMENTS Limited (VMIL), a subsidiary of VM Financial Group Limited, is leveraging its presence in Barbados as a base for regional expansion, while evolving its portfolio to prioritise private equity and asset management alongside traditional wealth management services.

The company’s 2024 annual report highlights a strategic shift toward growing higher-margin direct investments in Caribbean private companies and alternatives, reflecting a broader search for sustainable yield amid increasing competitive pressures in the region.

The leadership of VMIL, in an interview with Jamaica Observer, emphasised that this evolution is a calculated response to changing market dynamics, rather than a radical departure from its foundational business models. It also outlined the company’s operations as being structured around three principal pillars: wealth management, private equity, and property holdings. In the words of VMIL executives, these platforms serve both to anchor the Group’s traditional client services and to propel future growth. The focus on private equity and alternative assets was described as “deliberate positioning” within the its strategic outlook, reflecting an ambition to create sustained value through diversified investment channels and regional expansion.

“We operate VM Investments Limited. In that group, there are three pillars. One is our wealth management pillar, which is VM Wealth Management. Another key pillar in VM Investments is our private equity platform… Then for the third pillar, we have Kingston Properties. Kingston Properties is a global property holding company with a really diversified portfolio… So, the wealth management platform, a private equity platform, and a property holding platform in Kingston Properties,” Rezworth Burchenson, CEO of VMIL, told Business Observer.

Central to VMIL’s regional strategy is its growing footprint in Barbados, where the company recently acquired an investment advisory licence. This move has facilitated the rebranding and expansion of its mutual fund offerings, resulting in a significant increase in assets under management (AUM). According to company data, VMIL added over 1,300 clients and BD$20 million (approximately US$10 million) in AUM in Barbados within a brief period.

“We recently received approval to acquire an investment advisory licence in Barbados. So, that will allow us now to offer not just the mutual funds services, but we will now be able to offer more products and services in Barbados… what we want to do is to use Barbados, that first acquisition, as the springboard. So, what we’re doing is to seek to establish as many products and services that we offer in Jamaica, in Barbados,” Brian Frazer, deputy CEO and group chief treasury officer explained.

Burchenson added, “Barbados is our strategic beachhead for wider Eastern Caribbean expansion. The market here offers a robust regulatory environment and sufficient scale for us to pilot new product offerings, particularly in structured and alternative investments, before extending those solutions further across the region.”

This regional expansion dovetails with VMIL’s broader effort to diversify revenue streams amid fluctuating global and local economic conditions. The company’s 2024 Annual Report notes, “We strengthened our foundation and expanded our vision, delivering resilient performance even in uncertain times.” The annual report further delineates VMIL’s pivot towards “special structures”, including alternatives and real estate, to counterbalance slower growth in traditional unit trust products.

Financial results for the first half of 2025 reflect the complex dynamics of this transition. While consolidated revenues for VMIL’s second quarter from April 1 to June 30 increased 31 per cent compared to the prior year, driven by fee and commission income that rose 43 per cent, net profit for the period declined compared to the record year-earlier quarter due to the absence of a one-time gain from the sale of Carilend in 2024. Net interest income showed robust expansion, with increases of 34 per cent quarter-over-quarter and nearly doubling year over year, driven by higher-yielding interest-bearing assets.

Against this backdrop of shifting headline profits but improving core revenues, VMIL management is emphasising operational strengths and emerging market opportunities as interest rates are widely expected to ease. Frazer explained that the company is poised to benefit from recent market volatility and sees continued potential in its asset management business.

“We believe the volatility in the market has created some opportunities and what we’re busy doing is trying our best to take advantage of those opportunities,” he said.

He further noted: “The thing is that asset management business takes very little equity in terms of capital… it is a resilient business line… typically, the net asset values and the fees from that business are relatively stable compared to some of the other revenue lines.”

Frazer’s emphasis on growth and opportunity is matched by a strong focus on prudent investment and efficiency across VMIL’s operations. Addressing the implications of this strategy on the company’s cost base, Chief Operating Officer Alison Mais explained that operating expenses — up 50 per cent in the first half of 2025 — reflect intentional advances in digital and risk infrastructure. “These costs are primarily related to technology investment and enhanced risk provisioning. It represents an upfront cost to build the infrastructure and safeguards necessary for long-term, sustainable growth,” she told Business Observer.

VMIL is also broadening its asset management product suite, moving beyond traditional funds to include special structures such as real estate investment trusts and structured products. This is complemented by the property holdings business arm through Kingston Properties (KPREIT), which posted a 16 per cent pre-tax profit increase in 2024 and expanded its asset base in the UK and Cayman Islands.

Private equity continues to represent high-growth potential for VMIL. The successful exit of Carilend, a microfinance operation, underscored the value creation capacity within the portfolio. New investments in SMEs such as Stationery World, Home Choice, and Cold Bush Organics are aimed at nurturing these companies toward eventual public listings, leveraging initiatives like JASMEF with the Development Bank of Jamaica.

The company’s financial and operational discipline is further validated by regional credit rating agency CariCRIS, which recently reaffirmed VMIL’s investment-grade credit ratings with a stable outlook. CariCRIS assigned VMIL ratings of CariBBB on the Regional Scale and jmBBB on the Jamaica National Scale for local currency debt, with a jmA- rating for foreign currency. The stable outlook reflects expectations that VMIL will remain profitable and adequately capitalised through the short and medium term while continuing its strategic priorities, including product innovation, digital transformation, and growth of its private equity portfolio.

CariCRIS highlighted VMIL’s strengths in capitalisation and resilient profitability, noting that “the company’s strategic focus on diversifying revenue by expanding its product offerings and digital capabilities supports the stable rating outlook.” The agency further indicated that “sustained returns on earning assets above 4 per cent and an improved net interest margin could lead to future rating upgrades.”

Looking ahead, VMIL aims to capitalise on its digital transformation and regional diversification to sustain momentum despite challenges in the Jamaican domestic market. Mais summarised, “Our methodical approach to growth, innovation, and strong governance positions us as the Caribbean’s leading investment firm, capable of delivering enduring value to clients and stakeholders alike.”

VMIL last traded on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on October 7, 2025 at $2.66. It is up 6.48 per cent since the start of the year.

BURCHESON…Barbados is our strategic beachhead for wider Eastern Caribbean expansion. The market here offers a robust regulatory environment and sufficient scale for us to pilot new product offerings, particularly in structured and alternative investments, before extending those solutions further across the region.Joseph wellington