By Dennise Williams, Staff ReporterIN his quiet but effective manner, Wain Iton has over the last 16 years, helped revolutionise the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).
However, all good things must come to an end, and so on April 6, Mr. Iton will officially vacate the position of general manager that he has held since 1988. And in a fitting tribute, the JSE main index has passed the 100,000 mark.
When Mr. Iton became general manager, the main index that measures the total value of the stocks traded on the JSE, was at 1,439.22. Since that time, Mr. Iton and his team have successfully guided the JSE through socio-political storms that seemed to threaten the very foundation of Jamaica's financial sector. Looking back, Mr. Iton guided the market through the crash in 1993 and through the financial sector meltdown in the latter 1990s, which saw the JSE losing eight to 10 of its listed firms. Nonetheless, it could be something of a testament to Mr. Iton and his team that at the beginning of the second quarter of 2004, and on the eve of his departure, investors are now looking to the equity market as the better alternative than the more secure and sedate money market.
The JSE was founded in 1968 as a private limited liability company and began trading in February 1969. At that time, it was decided that the general manager would be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the JSE. As described by Mr. Iton, "No two days are the same. Over the last 16 years, each day is very different. Generally, I oversee the trading by looking at the monitor. Before we went electronic, I would view the board and resolve issues between traders and the presiding officer (the person who takes the bids and offers). In addition to my duties, there is the executive committee meetings where we sift through issues such as legal cases and complaints from the public with their brokers.
"We also give advice to the listing companies on issues important to them and give advice to lawyers. We also liaise with international and regional counterpoints."
By 1988, when Mr. Iton was appointed general manager, the JSE was still making trades manually. That is, brokers would sit at the floor of the JSE and call out their trades in an auction-like manner. But by 2000, the JSE went electronic. This change gave the JSE greater efficiency and a shorter settlement cycle. Meaning, the trading of shares would go through faster than a manual system. The offshoot of this was that the JSE became more attractive to international investors.
According to Mr. Iton, with the help of his team, "We took a manual exchange and configured it to world class standards. The JSE is the leader in the English-speaking Caribbean."
In addition to the modernisation of the JSE, Mr. Iton states that one of his major achievements is the "development of people in financial institutions who began their career at the JSE." For himself, Mr. Iton can say that he 'commands the respect of the public at many different levels.' Another achievement that Mr. Iton speaks warmly of is the development, with his team, of a rulebook for the JSE, which is at international levels.
However, the one sticking point for Mr. Iton is the dearth of listed companies on the JSE. "I think that we have a credible market."
"If there is one clear piece of the puzzle that is missing is the fact that we don't have more listed companies in Jamaica. That's the major hurdle. On the record, there are thousands of companies in Jamaica.
In 1969, 34 companies were listed on the JSE. BY 1995, it grew to 51 but today there are only 39 companies listed. Mr. Iton attributes this phenomenon to Jamaica's culture of secrecy and control where owners of companies do not want to open up their books for public scrutiny. However, he believes that the JSE has great economic benefits. "Companies who are listed on the JSE are better run and are more open. But getting companies to list is a process and not an event. And as the market becomes even more efficient, more companies will list."
One interesting idea that Mr. Iton floated was a regional exchange. "The quickest way to grow the exchange is to consolidate the markets in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. If you get all companies in one order book (where shares are bought and sold) it would also grow the number of listed firms. Then each company would be traded in one currency which could be worked out, but would most likely be the US dollar."
In terms of life after the JSE, Mr. Iton states that, "I love Jamaica. I have been here 30 years and I am not running away. But I am a regional man." One of four brothers, Mr. Iton was born in St. Vincent and came to Jamaica in 1973 to go to school. He has been married for seven years and has one son. He did give the Financial Gleaner a more detailed hint of his post JSE career options by saying, "I will be doing my own stuff. For now, I will be a consultant in the region and then I will take it from there." And he will not leave the JSE high and dry as he states, "there is a commitment to assist with my successor."
