The (UTC) Unit Trust Corporation of Trinidad
& Tobago has never been given enough or, sought the credit for its highly
successful Public Financial Education Campaign. The UTC was launched and had to
promote its First Unit Scheme (The Income & Growth Fund) at a time when
many local investors were exposing their funds to white collar criminals
operating in an unregulated market. With no direct competition, the UTC created
a new mutual fund to safeguard investors’ principal without forecasting any
income. This had Government backing as well as support from elite
Pension, Insurance and Banking investment funds. From small rented offices, long working
hours and an untested Strategic Plan, the UTC set out to transform Trinidad
& Tobago’s population into a more Investment Savvy nation.
One such transformative activity involved targeting and encouraging secondary or high
school students to form investment teams and to take part in the UTC Investment
Game. Exposing these school-level participants, future investors, to analyze
quarterly reports and the daily news, which would affect investments positively
or negatively. Preparing a generation of savers and investors, which will stimulate
the national economy to produce financial growth, but more importantly will
pass on their financial lessons to future generations. In effect, the UTC was
not created to damage the banking sector of the day, which looking back,
divided the population with a large wealth gap, but the UTC was created to
promote financial literacy.
Community gatherings;
religious festivals, parent teacher meetings, sports meets, were all quickly
turned into short meetings of investment clubs. People were anxious to learn;
why, where and how, their little money would be put to work in much the same
way as larger amounts would be invested. Small amounts attacking the same rate
of returns that large amounts would earn. The nervous private banking sector,
which saw depleting deposits moving to higher returns, lobbied hard, for a
level playing field, to launch their own Mutual Funds. The groundwork for this
Mutual Fund Industry was expensive, and the traditional bank and insurance
industry, with a big head start, saw the UTC as an upstart threat, gaining
ground.
Visits to office administration
staff, the lunchrooms of manual workers and union halls, the UTC made
presentations, not to sell or collect money, but to inform and educate. The
main lesson being that Small money can earn the same rate of returns as Big
money, the advantage of Mutual Funds.
With Cash Deposits,
in Banks and other Financial Institutions, held for Fixed Intervals to still
earn the lowest Rates, the Second Unit Scheme (Money Market Fund) of the UTC,
which invested in the same lending instruments; Treasury Bills and Bonds, allowed
its depositors to withdraw funds at any time.
This revolution started
in small rented administrative offices and is now in its own Multi-Story Skyscraper.
The original staff, many seconded from the Ministry of Finance afraid of losing
their permanent jobs, worked side by side with management, late into the night
and first in the next day, weekends and holidays. With hindsight, the plan was
always to educate the citizenry, everybody no matter their level of formal
education, as to putting money to work for more than its owner.
With the national level of financial literacy constantly improving, the
discourse between financial agents and their potential customers, will increase
as well. Serious questions from serious clients, who have now been transformed
into serious portfolio managers.
Research & Written
by:
