Merchant Bank reports outstanding results

RF Merchant Bank & Trust (RF) hosted their 2022 Investor Forum on January 26, 2022. David Slatter, RF VP of Investment Management confirmed that four out of seven of the investment banks mutual funds outperformed benchmarks in one year returns ending in December 2021.

Slatter reported that the top performing fund was the internationally invested Global Balanced Fund which had a 19.48 per cent one year return, 12 per cent above benchmark.

The RF International Opportunities fund and the Strategic Growth mutual fund also had impressive one year returns, ending 2021 with 18.11 per cent and 15.1 per cent returns respectively.

Slatter also covered economic outlooks for the year noting there is strong projected GDP growth in 2022 and 2023 in Barbados which he hopes will spark a more active local capital market.

He noted that in global markets high inflation numbers signal higher interest rates to come and in turn lower valuations.

“We don’t think passively buying an index is the approach right now, you need to be using active Asset Managers that have a strong track record of adding alpha,” stated David Slatter, “We have a great selection of Asset Managers that we are utilising currently given their historical performances.”

Guest speaker Steven Brod, CEO of Crystal Capital Partners, also presented during the virtual Forum introducing upcoming private equity trends and opportunities.

RF Bank & Trust, in partnership with Crystal Capital Partners, will be providing access for Bahamian institutional investors to international Private Equity funds that include some well-known and established brands such as SpaceX, DoorDash and Instacart.

“Companies today are increasingly reaching $10Bn in value pre-IPO,” stated Brod. This creates an amazing opportunity for investors to gain access to these companies as private equity. A strategy many Ivy League schools such as Harvard are already taking advantage of by investing up to 30 per cent in that space.

The Private Equity industry has grown into a $4.7 Trillion industry as of 2021.

Since its inception in 1997, RF has been committed to helping its clients create and manage wealth. They are the regional private bank connecting clients in The Bahamas, Barbados and the Cayman Islands with the best in local and international investments.

Offering a wide range of investment products and services, the business’ financial solutions are designed to help individuals and corporate clients meet and achieve their investment goals. These include Mutual Funds, Investment Management, Investment Banking, Group and Personal Pension Plans, Personal Retirement Accounts, Stock Brokerage, Trust and Estate Planning, Educational Investment Accounts. (PR)