Victoria Mutual: Best Financial Advisory Team Caribbean 2019

Since its launch, way back in 1878, Victoria Mutual has been a champion of financial inclusion. The Kingston-based company has devoted itself to empowering Jamaicans who had been financially excluded, providing them with savings and loan services, including mortgages and pension funds. The company is committed to staying abreast of the changing financial needs of its clients, and has developed strategic business units to offer them wealth management, money transfer, and real estate and insurance services. Victoria Mutual is a leader in wealth creation and protection, and remains true to its goal of empowerment. Its team believes that education is the key to that empowerment, and has developed public outreach platforms to provide communities with the financial literacy needed to plan for their future. The programmes introduce mortgages as a vehicle for home ownership — a dream it hopes to make an attainable reality for all Jamaican citizens. In 2018 alone, over 2,000 Jamaicans benefited from Victoria Mutual’s educational home ownership sessions. The building society’s sophisticated risk‐management strategy and governance policies have delivered a 23% increase to its loan portfolio from September 2017 to 2018 — while the market has grown by just 12%. The wealth management team provides Jamaican businesses with vital information on raising capital, and has become a leading arranger of bonds for corporate clients. The positive performance of Victoria Mutual’s equity and pension funds, its high rates of customer satisfaction and the engagement of its team caught the attention of the CFI.co judging panel. Victoria Mutual is a company that cares, and the judges are delighted to recognise its efforts in financial literacy education, as well as its sage stewardship. Congratulations to Victoria Mutual, the 2019 winner of the Best Financial Advisory Team (Caribbean) award.