Jan 2012 Financial News

WISE gets Pioneer Award from Securities Dealers Association

Jan 16, 2012

Rodney Prasad, former group director of RBTT Financial Group (now RBC), and West Indies Stockbrokers Ltd (WISE) are this year's recipients of the Securities Dealers Association of Trinidad and Tobago's Capital Market Pioneer Awards.

Prasad and WISE were honoured by SDATT in a ceremony at MovieTowne, Invaders Bay, Port of Spain on Thursday night for their outstanding contributions to the development of the capital market and securities exchange industry in Trinidad and Tobago.

"We are here to honour the pillars and foundation of the capital market. They are the reason we have come this far," said SDATT president Gregory Hill.

WISE, founded in 1964, the oldest and largest brokerage firm in the country, was one of the major driving forces behind the formation of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) in 1981.

"We have worked hand in hand with the TTSE since its inception and we look forward to the growth of the local capital market," said WISE managing director Adrian Manmohan.

WISE is part of the RBC Financial Caribbean, and has been since 1990 when Prasad, who was then head of Asset Management and Securities at RBTT recommended and orchestrated the company's acquisition by the bank.

Prasad has had an illustrious career in the banking sector of Trinidad and Tobago, establishing the RBTT Merchant Bank in 1991-1992, which under his leadership, became the most prolific merchant bank in the country. As group director of RBTT Financial, he spearheaded the company's sale and transition to the Royal Bank of Canada.

"A capital pioneer is someone who has made a substantial contribution to the development of the capital market with great personal integrity and outstanding reputation who has become an example to others. I am honoured that the SDATT considers me someone who qualifies with such stringent and elevated criteria," said Prasad.

He described the 1990s, during which his participation in the local capital market really began, as being the formative years for the securities industry in Trinidad and Tobago.

"The activities of origination and distribution of securities was relatively new with no regulatory framework. Players in the market had to be guided by self-regulation. It is with a great deal of pride and satisfaction I say that all the players responded to that critical imperative. When I hear the association's role in advising on future regulations, I think it has the integrity to do so," he said.

Hill also talked about the future for capital market expansion in Trinidad and Tobago. "SDATT believes strongly that financial services will become a driver of the domestic economy. Our country has been in oil and gas for over 100 years, so we have the expertise to evaluate the sector.

"We also have the expertise to raise significant capital right here in Trinidad and Tobago. There is absolutely no reason we cannot make Trinidad and Tobago the centre of capital market and asset management in this part of the world," he said.


Source:
By Carla Bridglal
Trinidad Express
Saturday January 14, 2012

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/business/2_get_Pioneer_Awards_from_security_dealers-137332468.html