WISE
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About Us

 

 

Introduction

Established in 1964, West Indies Stockbrokers Limited (WISE), with an average market share of 35% (2001-2006), is the oldest and largest brokerage firm in Trinidad & Tobago. WISE currently manages in excess of TT$12 billion for over 10,000 clients and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBTT Financial Group.

WISE offers a broad range of services to private clients, small businesses, institutions and corporations throughout the region. We take pride in our capabilities, dedicated team and consultative approach to partnering with our clients to create optimal solutions to meet their investment needs.

From the moment you become our client, you will receive the highest calibre of professional service, sound advice backed by superior research, and investment recommendations based on your specific needs. Whether you are new to investing or a seasoned professional, our goal is to help you make the best investment decisions for achieving your financial goals at a level of risk you’re comfortable taking.

With a team of financial experts with over 100 years experience, WISE is well positioned to offer its private and corporate clients an unparalleled level of service in any area of the financial markets, including:

Securities origination, brokerage, dealer or related activities in:

Financial & investment consultancy using:

Investment research encompassing:

  • Domestic Equities
  • Fixed Income
  • Mutual Funds
  • Equity Strategy
  • Portfolio Strategy

 

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Achievements

As the most experienced firm of stockbrokers in Trinidad and Tobago – especially in the area of capital market transactions – WISE has made many impressive achievements including:-

1)   Take-over Engagements, Offer to Purchase

Since 1990, we have handled, either individually or jointly, take-overs of the following companies.

Date

Company

April 1990*

Take-over of Caribbean Development Co Ltd by McEnearney Alstons Limited

April 1990

Represented Valpark Shopping Plaza Ltd, which was being taken over by Colonial Life Insurance Company ( Trinidad) Ltd (CLICO)

August 1990

Take-over of Crown Life (Caribbean) Ltd by Guardian Life of the Caribbean Limited

December 1990*

Take-over of Home Construction Ltd by CLICO

June 1991

Take-over of Valpark Shopping Plaza Ltd by Home Construction Ltd

August 1991

Take-over of T Geddes Grant Ltd by CLICO (subsequently withdrawn)

July 1992*

Take-over of T. Geddes Grant by Neal and Massy Holdings Ltd

December 2006 CIBC Investments (Cayman) Limited Offer to Purchase all the outstanding common shares of FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited

* Jointly handled with another broker 

 

3)   New Share Issues

Since 1990, we have handled individually the following new issues:

Date

Company

Shares

April 1991

Caribbean Communications Network Ltd

7.5M shares at $1.10

December 2002

B WIA ( West Indies) Airways Limited

12 M shares at $7.85

December 2002

Sagicor Financial Corporation

85 M Shares at Bds$1.75

August 2006 One Caribbean Media Limited 3M Shares at $20.00

 

4)   Offer For Sale

Date

Shares

Company

January 1990

Trinidad Cement Limited

21M shares at $0.85

June 1995

National Flour Mills Limited

12.02M shares at $2.10

November 1996

National Flour Mills Limited

9.015M shares at $2.50

February 1999

Prestige Holdings Limited

15M shares at $2.60

February 2001

National Enterprises Limited

50M Shares at $4.00

September 2002

National Enterprises Limited

75m Shares at $4.75

 

5)   Rights Issues

Date

Company

Shares

July 1992

Flavorite Foods Limited of 1.5M ordinary shares

1,500,000 

May 1994

The Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Limited
1:3 Rights Issue

22,298,196 

July 1994

Angostura Holdings Limited
1:5 Rights Issue

10,418,097 

September 1995

Caribbean Communications Network Limited
1:2 Rights Issue

17,500,000 

May 1995

The Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Limited
2:7 Rights Issue

25,483,652 

November 1998

RBTT Financial Holdings Limited
2:13 Rights Issue

22,681,305

June 2000

Trinidad Cement Limited
1:5.2 Rights Issue

40,284,699

June 2001

Guardian Holdings Limited
2:13 Rights Issue

19,373,077

November 2002

FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited
5:12 Rights Issue

58,674,509

June 2003

PLIPDECO
1:2 Rights

13,208,561

June 2005

Guardian Holdings Limited
1:19 Rights Issue

10,000,000

 

6)   Cross-Listing

Date

Company

April 1999

Barbados Shipping and Trading Company Ltd

 

7)   Corporation Sole

We were appointed by The Corporation Sole - Minister of Finance to sell Government’s remaining holding of shares in Trinidad Cement Limited in September 1998 (18,200,000).

 

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Directors, Executives and Principal Officers

 

Board of Directors

  • Ruthven Jaggassar (Chairman)
  • George Sheppard (CEO)
  • Patricia Kong Ting
  • Gaston S Aguilera
  • Stephen Bayne
  • Garth Chatoor

 

Executives and Principal Officers

Ruthven Jaggassar - Chairman

Mr. Jaggassar was educated at Fatima College in P.O.S and is a graduate of North Western Polytechnic in London UK majoring in Accounting and Economics. He is the holder of several Management Diplomas and Leadership Certificates from the American Management Assoc. and has an Intermediate Qualification from the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants of the U K (ACCA). He also has received extensive training in Banking and Finance both locally and abroad.

Mr. Jaggassar is a career banker of some 36 years with Barclays Bank PLC and RBTT Bank Ltd where he held several senior positions including General Manager-- Corporate and International Group, Executive Director -- Corporate and International Group and Executive Director -- Retail and Commercial Group until his retirement in 2001.

He was a former Director of several companies within the RBTT Bank Group and sat on the Boards of Trade Organisations and Chambers. He is currently on the Boards of the following Companies:

Director National Enterprises Ltd.
Director Caribbean Microfinance T & T Ltd.
Director Microfinance Caribbean Holdings Ltd.
Director Moka Valley Ltd.
Director Maraval Lands Ltd.
Chairman West Indies Stockbrokers Ltd.
Chairman RBTT Wise Ltd.
President St Andrews Golf Club

 

George D. Sheppard – Chief Executive Officer

George Sheppard is a Chartered Financial Analyst who came to WISE from Republic Securities Limited. Prior to this, he gained diverse experience and knowledge in investment and corporate banking with BMO Nesbitt Burns, a major Canadian-based North American investment bank. Mr Sheppard’s career began in the corporate planning department at Republic Bank Limited.

Mr. Sheppard will provide leadership, strategic direction and management expertise for WISE in the areas of equity and fixed income sales and trading, equity research, capital raising and investment advisory services. He will be responsible for ensuring WISE maintains its dominant position as a leading stockbroking firm, catering to the varied needs of its individual, corporate and institutional clients.

Mr. Sheppard holds a BA (Honours) in Economics from Mc Gill University, Canada and a MBA from Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario also in Canada.

 

Adrian Manmohan – Head of Operations & Trading

Mr. Manmohan has over twelve years experience in the financial services sector. Ten of those years have been at WISE where he moved from an Investment Analyst to his current position of Head of Operations and Trading. He also spent two years as Manager of Investment Services at ANSA Merchant Bank Limited.

Mr. Manmohan is responsible for all trading and back office operations of WISE. This includes local equity, international equity and fixed income. He ensures that the operations of the Company are efficient, timely, relevant and within the confines of the law while providing a superior level of service to all clients.

Mr. Manmohan holds a BA in Economics from Mc Master University, Canada and has completed the Canadian Securities Course (Honours) and Level 2 of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Program.

 

Cindy Berkeley – Head of Accounting, Finance and Compliance

Cindy Berkeley joined WISE in June 2007 as Head of Accounting, Finance and Compliance. She brings to the team a wealth of RBTT experience; having worked at RBTT Trust, Group Internal Audit and Group Market Risk. Ms. Berkeley recently completed final exams for the ACCA accreditation.

 

Claire Fletcher BSc (Honours), MBA – New Product & Market Development Manager

Ms. Claire Fletcher joined WISE in February 2006 as the International Equity Trader and by November 2007 she assumed the title of New Product & Market Development Manager. Prior to WISE, Claire gathered experience in the international markets working for a leading global information company in the UK providing content, analytics and trading capabilities used by financial professionals. In 2005, Claire spent 6 months on assignment in India and played an integral role in the successful migration of a core business function from the UK to Bangalore.

Ms. Fletcher holds a BSc (Honours) in Environmental Science from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom and an MBA (specializing in Financial Management) from the University of Exeter, also in the UK.

 

Trader

Salma Ali – Trader

Salma Ali joined WISE in April 1998. She filled the post of Assistant Accountant before being promoted to Accountant in 2001, when she completed her ACCA accreditation. In June 2005, Ms. Ali took on a new challenge at WISE and became the Local Equity Trader, a post she currently holds to date.

 

Sales Team

Daniel Youssef BA (IBA) – Manager (North, West & Tobago)

Mr. Youssef joined the firm in 2005 and is responsible for overseeing the institutional, ultra high net worth and specialised accounts. Prior to joining WISE he gathered his experience in the Insurance industry and subsequently, in Stockbroking.

Mr. Youssef holds a BA in International Business Administration, with honours, from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. He is currently seeking to commence an MBA with a specialisation in Finance.

 

Devanand Birju – ABE, CFP – Manager (East, Central & South)

Mr. Birju is one of our most recent additions to the WISE Team. Prior to joining WISE Dave’s career has been with various units of our parent company RBTT Bank Limited. A career banker by profession Dave has over 15 years experience in all areas of banking and finance with his dominant strengths being in customer service marketing and business development.

Mr.Birju holds an advanced diploma with the Association of Business Executives (ABE) and has successfully completed the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) programme at ROYTEC. He is currently seeking to commence his MBA at UWI’S Arthur Lok Jack Institute of Business.

 

Research Analysts

Nancy Chen BA – Research Analyst

Nancy Chen joined WISE as a Research Analyst in April 2007. Prior to joining WISE, Nancy worked at our parent company RBTT Bank Limited in the capacity of Programmer Analyst.

Ms. Chen holds a BA (specializing in Finance and Economics) from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

 

Portfolio Managers

Rowland Thomas BSc. - Proprietary Investment Manager

Mr. Thomas joined the firm in 2005 as the Fixed Income Analyst. He is currently responsible for the domestic fixed income activity and management of the company’s equity investment book.

Prior to joining WISE Rowland worked at another RBTT unit - RBTT Albion Ltd as the Credit Analyst. Before joining RBTT he also worked at an international insurance company where he assisted in the cash management and investment for that company’s Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Islands’ operations.

Mr. Thomas holds a BSc. Accounting (Specialization) from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus.

 

Compliance

Lyndon Paynter ACCA – Compliance/Risk Officer

Mr. Paynter joined WISE in January 2006. Prior to this he worked within the stock brokerage industry in several capacities including Accountant, Research Analyst and Account Executive.

Mr. Paynter is a Certified Accountant and Fellow with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants and is in the process of completing an MSc Degree in Management Studies at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.

 


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