The rising price of oil on the world market is fuelling a resurgence of the Trinidad and Tobago indices.
This was outlined by Fortress Fund Managers as it reported on the performance of its Caribbean Growth Fund for the last quarter ended December 31, 2021.
Fortress, the island’s largest mutual fund operator outlined that the Caribbean Growth Fund which invests in Caribbean and international equities, gained 2.7 per cent during the last quarter of the year, and was up 17.9 per cent over the past year.
“Net assets of the Fund were $629 million, up from $522 million this time last year. . . . Its portfolio remains well diversified by security, geography, and currency. During the quarter, the Trinidad index posted a gain of five per cent, while other major regional indices were down. Massy Group, a meaningful part of the Trinidad index and our portfolio, advanced 27 per cent over the quarter, supported by strong results for the financial year,” the investment firm outlined.
Explaining the disparity in performance between the Trinidad index and the other major Caribbean indices, Fortress told investors the performance was mirroring the differences in economic fundamentals of the markets.
“Barbados and Jamaica, meanwhile, continued to experience stalled tourism activity for much of 2021. Equity markets in these tourism-dependent markets may recover following better economic performance in 2022.”
The mutual fund identified the other movers over the quarter included Guardian Holdings which was down by nine per cent.
“Our Guyana holdings also continued to gain. Banks DIH and Demerara Bank were up 15 per cent and nine per cent respectively. On the global front, equities rallied in October but traded lower in mid-November on concerns over the Omicron variant and the United States Federal Reserve’s tapering and rate hike schedule. As fears of renewed pandemic lockdowns quickly subsided, United States stocks rose in December, and bond yields increased,” the local firm reported.
Offering its forecast, Fortress Fund Managers said in 2022 it was unlikely that economic recovery would continue at the same pace without bringing interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve in order to dampen inflation.
According to the fund managers: “Much of the global stock market rally of the last two years (or more) has been centred in the United States, especially in higher priced growth shares, and it has benefited from huge monetary stimulus.
“As more of the world gets back to normal in the months ahead, we would not be surprised to see broader participation in the stock market gains, with better valued shares in international and emerging markets gaining as their earnings grow, and some of the more reasonably priced parts of the US market outperforming the recent highfliers. We continue to see very good prospects for the kinds of high-quality, well-valued shares where the Fund invests,” Fortress told investors. (IMC1)
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