Fortress: Education is key to increasing investments

by Marlon Madden

Officials of investment firm Fortress Fund Managers are convinced that greater investment awareness could lead to a higher level of investment among Barbadians.

Marketing manager Kim Howard said one of the hindrances to more residents investing in various financial instruments was a lack of awareness.

At the same time, Howard said she believed individuals simply showed no interest in the investment information that was already available.

“I personally believe that without that education and awareness it hampers investors. So people who might be well poised to invest, or who might be interested and are unsure, I think that what we communicate should help them get past that particular hurdle,” she said.

Howard, who is also a podcast creator for the company, said Fortress was doing what it could to bridge that divide by providing “quick” financial updates on the financial world by having a heavy presence on various social media platforms.

“I will always be nudging away at ways that we can educate the public about investing and finance. I always say a knowledgeable investor is a good investor,” she said.

Investment Director of Fortress Fund Managers Roger Cave said he believed more could be done at the secondary school level to encourage more people to get interested in investment opportunities from a young age.

“We all wish and hope that more of it could be done in the formal education system. I think it is an area where there is a gap in formal tuition on investment.

At the university level it is well covered, but I don’t think at the [secondary] school level there is enough,” said Cave.

However, while pointing to some subject areas, Howard said she believed the information was
already there.

“I think sometimes we give the school system a hard time . . . we also have a responsibility to seek out information,” said Howard, who warned that a part of the problem could be where individuals were seeking their information.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb