Schnoor

Investment house Scotia DBG Investments has had a setback in the launch of its regional bond fund, which was originally slated to hit the market two months ago, but it should now come on-stream next month, the firm says.

Anya Schnoor, the outfit's chief executive officer, said the United States dollar fund will be offered initially in Jamaica and later in Trinidad and Tobago.

"It is a US dollar fund and it is going to be tax free to Jamaicans who invest in it so that is one of the key advantages," Schnoor said of the Caribbean Income Fund (CIF).

Scotia DBG is projecting to attract US$20 million in the first year of the fund.

Internal goal

"That is just our target, it is something that we have set as our internal goal and that is what we are focusing on," the CEO said.

Schnoor has been playing up the benefits of the coming investment product, which should be rolled out into other Caribbean markets over time, according to the Jamaican firm's schedule.

The fund is intended for investment mainly in Caribbean sovereign debt.

It is being launched in a bid to boost revenue and diversify away from Scotia DBG heavy reliance on interest income.

Schnoor and her company are billing the new bond fund as the first in a series of new instruments to be retailed to potential investors, with other unit trust-type vehicles said to be in the pipeline awaiting the green light from the financial services regulator, the Financial Services Commission.

The CIF, Scotia DBG's 45th investment offering, joins a portfolio of 36 US and Canadian dollar mutual fund products, including money market, US dollar bond, US growth, global growth and a Canadian growth fund, now being marketed by the firm.

Net income

Meanwhile, reporting recently on the performance of her company, Schnoor said for the third quarter of 2009, Scotia DBG earned net income of $486 million against the $299 million it brought in for the comparative period last year.

The results of the quarter were $40 million below the previous one, a performance the firm is attributing to a one-off $69 million impairment provision for a loss on a repurchase agreement with collapsed international house Lehman Brothers, just now being reflected in Scotia DBG's financials.

The investment firm said that it does not expect to do any further provision of this nature.

In the meantime, earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter was $1.15 compared to $1.24 at the end of the previous quarter. Year-to-date EPS was $3.30 and the company's return on average equity remains at 29.75 per cent.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm. com