The Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) is working on launching a spot market while developing a slew of other initiatives to bolster market liquidity for its domestic capital markets.

This was announced by TTSE Chief Executive Officer Eva Mitchell at the fourth Capital Markets & Investor Conference held on October 24 at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

“The TTSE has also developed the infrastructure for a spot market to support trading in derivatives, the first of its kind in the Caribbean. The draft rules are currently being finalised and, once approved by the SEC, it will open the doors to an entirely new level of market activity. This is a big step for us. It means more opportunities for investors, deeper liquidity, and another sign that our market is evolving in exciting ways,” Mitchell said in her opening remarks.

Although the TTSE CEO indicated that the spot market would be for derivatives, most spot markets involve the trading of financial instruments for immediate payment and delivery. Some of these financial instruments include commodities, currencies, and securities. Financial derivatives, on the other hand, derive their value from an underlying value from assets like a stock, commodity, or currency.

Call options give the owner of that contract the right but not the obligation to purchase a fixed number of units at a specific price (strike price). Futures are another financial derivative that are like options in terms of the strike price and the fixed number of units to purchase, but the owner of the contract is required to buy the underlying asset at the predetermined price at a future date. The seller of the futures contract is required to sell and deliver the underlying asset.

These financial derivatives are used to hedge risk for asset owners whose asset can change based on market conditions. Someone that owns a good volume of a stock can earn extra income by selling call options and collecting the premium paid by the buyer. A company that produces oil can hedge the price risk associated with the commodity by selling futures contracts at a defined price compared to selling on the open market, which fluctuates daily.

Extended trading hours

As part of its expansion initiative the TTSE is aiming to shorten its settlement cycle from T+2 to T+1 (trade day plus one business day) and extend trading hours during 2026.

When an investor sells a stock/listed security on the TTSE the funds don’t become immediately available to withdraw from their brokerage account and put to purchase another good or service. A settlement process must occur for the buyer to become the owner of the stock and the seller to receive the cash.

Under the current T+2 settlement cycle, if an investor sells a stock on Wednesday the proceeds of that sale will become available on Friday to be withdrawn from his/her brokerage account. The buyer of the stock becomes the owner of those securities at the end of the settlement cycle as well.

“The TTSE has submitted an application to our regulator to extend trading hours, a move that will support the transition to a T+1 settlement framework which we aim to achieve in 2026. This move will not only increase our competitiveness but also bring the TTSE in closer alignment with global best practices for the most advanced exchanges,” Mitchell explained to an ecstatic audience.

The TTSE moved the settlement time for its equity markets from T+3 to T+2 in April 2024, which aligned with the TTSE Government and Corporate bond markets that was already using T+2. The TTSE previously used T+5 up to January 2006 and initially used T+10 when the market was formed in October 1981.

The TTSE’s pre-market session is from 8:00 am to 9:30 am and fully opens for trading between 9:30 am to 12:00 pm, which translates to a trading session of 2½ hours.

The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) adjusted its trading session from 3½ hours to 5 hours in May 2024.

The TTSE’s move to T+1 follows a global shift where equity markets are moving to a shorter settlement window. The Indian stock markets had a phased transition to February 2022 to January 2023 while the United States, Canadian, Mexican, and Jamaican equity markets moved to T+1 in May 2024.

The European Union (EU) and Switzerland are aiming to move to T+1 by October 11, 2027. Although the United Kingdom (UK) is no longer part of the EU, it has also set the same October 2027 date for the switch to T+1. According to a European Commission article on the change, the global shift to T+1 is creating a misalignment between the EU and global financial markets, a situation which creates cost for EU market participants.

TTSE bats for improved liquidity

The move to the T+1 settlement cycle is one initiative meant to improve market liquidity and access to capital for market participants. The TTSE is also exploring the development of a market maker framework to help boost liquidity for the overall market.

A market maker is generally a firm that actively quotes both sides of a market which involves buying via bids and selling securities via ask orders. These firms profit from the bid-ask spread and provide liquidity to the market through their activity. Some designated market makers in New York include Citadel Securities LLC, GTS Securities LLC and Virtu Americas LLC.

“The TTSE is exploring a market maker framework. We’re looking at two possible options. A single capitalised and independent market making entity with key stakeholders or a model wherein companies make a market for their own shares through a qualified market maker. Either way, it’s a big step towards a more dynamic and resilient market,” said Mitchell.

The TTSE is also working with IDB Invest, an arm of the Inter-American Development Bank, to develop a green bond guide to list sustainable bonds on the exchange. These bonds would support climate goals by financing green and blue projects in the country. The TTSE joined the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (UN SSE) in July 2025.

While these initiatives are welcomed, the TTSE is working to expand the depth of its market which currently had 48 securities with 14 securities being preference shares or bonds. The market is set to see have another delisting shortly once Agostini Limited completes the takeover bid for Prestige Holdings Limited. The TTSE benefited in August 2025 from the listing of A S Bryden & Sons Holdings Limited’s ordinary and preference shares.

“While we continue to work towards increasing our investor base and awareness, we thoroughly understand that, for retail investor interest, an intensity of simultaneous effort is necessary to attract suitable corporations and SMEs towards listing, appreciating that tax and other incentives are important ingredients for success. We’re also continuing to champion the business community, pushing for expanded tax incentives and policies that make listing and investing more rewarding, especially for our SMEs,” Mitchell explained as she pushed for more listings.

The TTSE’s SME (Small & Medium Enterprise) Market crossed the TT$1 billion ($23 billion) market capitalisation value when Medcorp Limited listed on July 7. This was the fourth SME listing since it was formed in 2012. However, the SME Market had its first listing in November 2018 with the Eric Solis Marketing Limited and Medcorp listings being the first companies to have fully subscribed initial public offerings (IPOs).

The TTSE’s growth push comes at a time when investors continue to watch market prices dip. The All T&T Index, a stock index that measures the value of ordinary shares for companies whose primary jurisdiction is Trinidad & Tobago, peaked at 2,155.96 points in January 2022. However, the index moved from 2,007.80 points in December 2022 to 1,580.25 points in December 2024, a shift of 21.29 per cent. The index declined to 1,428.82 points on September 30, resulting in decline of 9.58 per cent for the first nine months of 2025.

“We know that, for short term investors, the market right now is bear, but the long-term investors know that this is the best time to buy. As always, our job is to strengthen the foundation, continue to update structures, partnerships, and policies so that when confidence returns our market is ready to respond and thrive,” Mitchell closed.