The Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) has announced that Colonial Pension Services (Bahamas) Ltd. has been approved as a BISX Sponsor Member. BISX Sponsor Members are responsible for bringing mutual fund listings to the Exchange and acting as the first point of contact for mutual funds while they are engaged in the listing application process with the Exchange. Colonial Pension Services becomes the eighth Sponsor Member to join BISX, and brings to the Exchange a wealth of experience in the areas of wealth and pension fund management.
Larry Gibson CFA, Vice President commenting on this achievement said *“Having established ourselves as a regional and international pension administrator and investment manager, Colonial Pension is pleased to take this next step towards consolidating ourselves as the premier pension provider in The Bahamas. As the newest BISX Sponsor Member, this is yet another affirmation of our commitment to the development of the Bahamian pension industry”*.
Immediately after approval as a BISX Sponsor Member, Colonial Pension submitted an application to list three sub-funds of the Colonial Bahamas Fund on BISX, under the Exchange’s mutual fund listing facility. These three funds have been approved for listing and will now have their information
disseminated via the BISX Website. Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D, Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E, and Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F are open-ended investment sub-funds of the Colonial Bahamas Fund.
Commenting on the admission of Colonial Pension as a BISX Sponsor Member, BISX Chief Executive Officer Keith Davies stated, *”We are pleased to have such a positive development in the first quarter of 2015. By Colonial Pension joining BISX as a Sponsor Member, they are now able to bring mutual fund listings directly to BISX, and BISX is able to direct business inquiries to this new Member. We believe that this affiliation in conjunction with their existing Membership as a BISX Broker Dealer Member will allow Colonial Pension to pursue new business opportunities while offering more services to their existing clients.”*
He added, *“This offering also furthers the BISX aim of encouraging an investing culture in The Bahamas. Our market is continuing to expand as new products and new entrants continue to recognize the potential of the Bahamian marketplace.”*
Desiree Parker CFA, Assistant Vice President and Portfolio Manager for the Colonial Bahamas Fund said that *“The addition of these new share classes will provide significant diversification opportunities to our clients either directly or through our existing investment products. We currently have relationships with an array of ‘best-in-class’ global managers whom we utilize for our non-Bahamian block of business, and the creation of these new sub-classes will allow us to offer that expertise to our local clients.”*
Pension Services (Bahamas) Limited has also been appointed as the Administrator and Investment Manager for this Fund.