Frequently Asked Questions - BPM Financial Ltd
{slide=What does BPM stand for?}
BPM Financial Ltd. was established in 1993 as Barita Portfolio Management Ltd (BPML). In
April 2008 BPML re-branded as BPM Financial Ltd.(BPM), and is now not affiliated with the
Barita Group of Companies.
BPM is a privately held company, offering Investment and Pension Fund Management
services. BPM offers institutions as well as individuals premier investment products, which
affords the investor the opportunity to maximize the return on their investment.
{/slide} {slide=What is a stock?}
Plain and simple, a stock is a share in the ownership of a company. Stocks represent a claim on
the company's assets and earnings. As you acquire more stocks, your ownership stake in the
company becomes greater. Whether you say shares, equity, or stock, it all means the same
thing.
Being an Owner Holding a company's stock means that you are one of the many owners
(shareholders) of a company and, as such, you have a claim (albeit usually very small) to
everything the company owns. Yes, this means that technically you own a tiny sliver of every
piece of furniture, every trademark, and every contract of the company. As an owner, you are
entitled to your share of the company's earnings as well as any voting rights attached to the
stock.
A stock is represented by a stock certificate. This is a fancy piece of paper that is proof of your
ownership. In today's computer age, you won't actually get to see this document because your
brokerage keeps these records electronically, which is also known as holding shares "in street
name". This is done to make the shares easier to trade. In the past, when a person wanted to
sell his or her shares, that person physically took the certificates down to the brokerage. Now,
trading with a click of the mouse or a phone call makes life easier for everybody.
Being a shareholder of a public company does not mean you have a say in the day-to-day
running of the business. Instead, one vote per share to elect the board of directors at annual
meetings is the extent to which you have a say in the company.
{/slide} {slide=What is a bond?}
A Bond is simply an 'IOU' in which an investor agrees to loan money to a company or
government in exchange for a predetermined interest rate.
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Frequently Asked Questions - BPM Financial Ltd
If a business wants to expand, one of its options is to borrow money from individual investors,
pension funds, or mutual funds. The company issues bonds at various interest rates and sells
them to the public. Investors purchase them with the understanding that the company will pay
back their original principal (the amount the investor loaned to the company) plus any interest
that is due by a set date (this is called the "maturity" date).
{/slide} {slide=What is government paper?}
Debt securities that are issued or guaranteed by a sovereign government. Government paper
of a nation is usually perceived as the least risky debt securities in that country, and will offer
investors the lowest yields compared with debt of a similar maturity issued by other entities in
that nation.
Risk perceptions of government paper issued by different nations vary widely depending on a
number of factors including credit rating, default history, political stability etc. Jamaican
government paper is considered to be among the safest investments and practically risk-free.
{/slide} {slide=What is portfolio management?}
The aim of Portfolio Management is to achieve the maximum return
from a portfolio
which has been delegated to be managed by an
individual manager or financial
institution. The manager has to
balance the parameters which define a good investment
i.e. security,
liquidity and return. The goal is to obtain the highest return for
the
client of the managed portfolio.
{/slide} {slide=What is a pyramid scheme?}
A fraudulent scheme in which people are recruited to make payments to the person who
recruited them while expecting to receive payments from the persons they recruit; when the
number of new recruits fails to sustain the hierarchical payment structure the scheme collapses
with most of the participants losing the money they put in.
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Frequently Asked Questions - BPM Financial Ltd
{/slide} {slide=What does the FSC do?}
The mandate of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) is to supervise and regulate the
securities, insurance and private pensions industries. As such the FSC may be described as an
integrated financial services regulator.
In being an effective regulator, the FSC has prudently structured the organization with specialist
divisions designed to fulfill its mandate. The divisions include insurance, securities, legal &
investigations, actuarial, corporate services and pensions. These divisions fall under an
umbrella that seeks to effectively bring to fruition a mandate that is geared towards fostering
professionalism within the industries that are regulated by the Commission.
The Commission has responsibility to manage proper administration of the pensions, securities
and insurance laws. In doing so the FSC oversees the registration, solvency and conduct of
approximately 614 firms and over 4,800 individuals doing business in the pensions, securities
and insurance (life and General) industries. Such as:
* Securities Dealers
* Investment Advisors
* Securities Dealers Representatives
* Investment Advisors Representatives
* Mutual Funds
* Unit Trusts
* Insurance Companies
* Insurance Brokers
* Insurance Agencies
* Insurance Managing General Agent
* Insurance Sales Representatives
* Insurance Loss Adjusters
* Insurance Consultants
* Pension Funds and Retirement Schemes
* Pension Administrators
* Pension Investment Managers
* Pension Trustees
The FSC oversees these entities by administering a number of statutes and accompanying
regulations. The relevant statutes are the FSC Act, the Pension Act, the Securities Act, the Unit
Trusts Act and the Insurance Act.
The FSC is governed by a Board of Commissioners established by law and made up of a
Chairman, and up to 9 other Commissioners, including the Executive Director. The Executive
Director is appointed by the other Commissioners who in turn are appointed by the Minister of
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Frequently Asked Questions - BPM Financial Ltd
Finance. The Executive Director is the only full time Commissioner and he is responsible for
managing the activities of the Commission.
{/slide} {slide=What is JDX?}
The Government of Jamaica's invitation to Jamaican-resident holders of certain domestic debt
instruments issued on or prior to December 31, 2009 and maturing on or after February 16,
2010, that are denominated in Jamaican dollars (“J$”) and United States dollars (“USD”), as
well as those that are indexed to USD to exchange those Old Notes for new, longer-dated debt
instruments at lower interest rates.
{/slide}
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