Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
SHIRLEY
BROKERAGE HOUSES offer just about the same stocks, bonds, repurchase agreements and other products to their customers, so the main distinction between them is customer service.
Sandra Shirley, president of First Global Financial Services (FGFS) sat down with the Financial Gleaner to discuss her approach to satisfying the needs of Jamaican investors.
"We understand that products are commodities. Everybody offers similar financial products. So what is different about FGFS is service and delivery."
Indeed, one interesting strategy implemented by FGFS is giving clients a direct line to Ms. Shirley. The company sends out mail inviting account holders to call Ms. Shirley on her straight line if they have any comments or concerns. The flyers state that customer complaints are a 'gift'.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Ms. Shirley continues, "Cutting-edge customer service is what we are all about. What we have come up with is to say to clients that we have a full range of products."
And one of the products that the company is currently focusing on is mutual funds suited for the investor with a three to five-year horizon. Now almost all of the brokerage houses offer mutual funds or unit trust investments. However, what Ms. Shirley and her team have decided to do is to allow clients to cherry-pick from a wide range of financial products that are based outside of Jamaica.
"As you know," Ms. Shirley explains, "we offer the GK Caribbean Fixed Income Fund and CI Funds, which is a mutual fund group based in Canada that mostly invests in international equities."
Now, FGFS is not the only company offering CI Funds in Jamaica. And Ms. Shirley addresses this. "We were the first to the table with CI Funds. GraceKennedy has a long- standing relationship with Ray Chang, the chairman of CI Funds. We are especially pleased to be offering this fund because it is one of the top-rated funds in Canada for the last couple of years."
But the company isn't resting on its laurels. Ms. Shirley invited Safiya F. Burton, assistant vice- president for regional marketing, to discuss the forward strategy of the company. "First, I want to say that we are overwhelmed by the public response to our offer of CI Funds. We have about four to five times the amount of money of our competitor. And what we offer our clients is a semi-annual review of their portfolio. For no charge, we can re-balance the mutual funds in the CI fund family to suit the needs of the investor."
Ms. Shirley adds, "We recognise that we are not the only ones offering CI funds and so service is key."
Beyond the current stable of mutual funds, pending Financial Services Commission approval, FGFS will be offering new equity-based mutual funds.
Ms. Burton explains. "Once we are approved we will be offering the GK Caribbean Global Equity Fund. It will be a two-tiered mutual fund. The Caribbean equity segment will be direct purchases of Caribbean stocks. The global segment will include participation in mutual funds from Russia, India, Germany, and the Far East. These companies are experiencing phenomenal growth.
"Additionally, we will be offering the GK Money Market Fund. This fund will invest in money market instruments throughout the world and the Caribbean."
Similar to the CI Funds, the new funds, once approved by the regulators, will require a minimum opening balance of US$500.
Essentially, Ms. Shirley states, "We want to be the mutual fund supermarket of the Caribbean."
