ewart s williams : launch of managed funds study address by mr ewart s williams, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the securities and exchange commission breakfast, port - of - spain, 25 march 2010. * * * let me first of all thank the securities and exchange commission for the invitation to make a few opening remarks at this breakfast meeting to launch this most timely study. as noted, since the start of trade and financial liberalization in the 1990s, the financial landscape of trinidad and tobago has undergone quite rapid growth and development both in terms of the structure of financial institutions as well as the array of instruments and services they provide. while the commercial banks have remained the dominant sub - sector in terms of its share in total financial assets, we have witnessed relatively strong growth in non - banking institutions such as pension funds ; insurance companies ; collective investment schemes including mutual funds ; and asset management business. to a large extent, this rapid growth has been facilitated by the significant increase in personal incomes and the search for higher returns and portfolio diversification by investors. while a significant degree of effort has been expended on developing information and reporting regimes for the banking sector, the information base for other critical segments of the financial system has lagged somewhat ( behind that of the banking system ). in an effort to fill this gap and to provide a greater array of information for investors and decision makers, the sec, in collaboration with the central bank, sponsored a baseline study in 2005 to gauge and assess the structure and performance of collective investment schemes. this study which was subsequently published in august 2007, noted the rapid rate of growth of the collective investments scheme industry, with funds under management in the mutual fund sector increasing almost fivefold in the period 2000 – 2005. it also pointed to the high concentration of funds under management ; fragmentation in the supervision and regulation of the industry and the need for a comprehensive regulatory framework for the sector. it is now five years since the baseline study on collective investment schemes was undertaken and, in the meantime, the global financial landscape has undergone significant transformation following the global financial crisis. here at home, the banking system has shown remarked resilience, the stock market performance has remained anemic, while mutual funds have continued to be attractive investment vehicles. the regulatory environment has also been undergoing major reform with the upgrading of legislation for various segments of the financial services industry. a new financial institutions bill was passed in december 2008 and new legislation covering the insurance industry, the credit union

, aarp and the unit trust corporation. we plan to reach our priority groups through several channels ; through wider pathways, meaning the media, the web, leaflets, newspaper articles, etc. but principally, through group work - that is by direct interaction with the various target groups. ladies and gentlemen, this programme cannot be implemented by the central bank alone. the bank will coordinate and supervise the preparation of the material and arrange for the training of trainers to bring their knowledge to the various target groups. examples elsewhere confirm that the message of financial literacy is much better received if delivered by peers or associates or from people who could speak from personal experience. we hope to depend heavily on volunteers, and in this context, we would hope to be able to count on a group such as icatt to help us deliver this critical national service. i can see icatt helping us to prepare material on household budgeting, balancing one ’ s checkbook and a variety of activities that have an accounting dimension. let me summarize what we expect to achieve with this programme. we hope that it will contribute to making consumers more financially aware and able to : • make ends meet and avoid unnecessary personal debt ; • keep track of their finances ; • plan ahead, including making provisions for the rainy day and retirement ; • respond appropriately to market signals ; and • attain the confidence and skill needed to handle basic financial transactions. this is a tall order, but with the support of the various institutions that we plan to enlist, including icatt, i am confident that we can lay the foundation for a level of financial literacy that would enhance the lives of our citizens and make a major contribution to our economic development efforts. i thank you.