PANCARIBBEAN Financial Services (PCFS) was recently confirmed as the leading brokerage in Jamaica in 2010, having traded more than a quarter of the trades across the floor of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) last year.

In a statement issued on Monday, PCFS said “this was not unusual territory” as the investment bank ranked first or second, in terms of market share, over the past five years.

PCFS, which ranked No 1 of 11 stock brokerages, traded over $4.58 billion in equities on the JSE, or 26.4 per cent of the value of all trades on the exchange last year.

According to Merrick Plummer, PCFS research and portfolio manager “2011 will see investors experiencing lower yields on short-dated investments given the fall-off in interest rates”.

“We encourage investors to look to bonds or consider stocks that pay dividends on a consistent basis to replace lost income,” Plummer said. “A number of quality stocks currently provide dividend yields above short to medium-term, fixed-income investments.”

Following its success with the Dolphin Cove IPO, Plummer anticipates more good listings on the Junior Stock Exchange, with strong growth prospects.

In December 2010, PCFS was awarded top honours in three of seven categories at the JSE Best Practice Awards. The company secured two first place awards and was first runner-up in a third category.