Wise woos US players

In a bid to woo local clients disenchanted with depressed returns on the local stock market and who might want to mine foreign markets, West Indies Stockbrokers (Wise) is opening new doors.

With the relaunch of its international equity trading facility, the company is giving local investors a picture of rosy opportunities in the US market

The company, in a notice to its investors, said its trading platform comes at a time when the US economy is witnessing its fourth consecutive year of above trend growth and the bullish market shows no signs of retreating.

“Positive underlying fundamentals and only moderate increases in inflation and bond rates should continue to keep US stocks prices buoyant,” the company said in its letter to investors.

Aside from the potential gains, the recognised benefits of diversification are sufficient to warrant investing in the US market, it was noted. “Whether you decide to invest directly in the US stock market or purchase shares in an exchange-traded or mutual fund, adding international exposure to a portfolio will normally reduce the risk without lowering returns.” Although no forecast is without risk, Wise said there is a case for a significant positive upside for the US stock market since it has not been fully reflecting positive economic trends for several years.

It described the US exchanges as offering a safe and inexpensive alternative to investing directly in global markets, which it told investors, can be done through instruments such as ADRs, international stocks traded on US exchanges and US multinationals.

The company told investors that by using Pershing as its trading platform and clearing firm, Wise clients will have access to a broad spectrum of trading products including, US and non-US listed equities, OTC securities, mutual funds and fixed income products.

As a member of BNY Securities Group and a subsidiary of The Bank of New York, Pershing, Wise said, offers a reputation for unquestioned reliability and integrity.

Pershing’s facilities provide an efficient, secure operating environment, and enable us to deliver the highest quality products and services to our customers, it was added. With access to professional equity research on a real-time basis, company officials said it holds an intimate knowledge of the markets “enabling us to recommend investments as well as stay informed of events that might affect an investment.”

The investor note said that other tangible benefits include “clear and accurate statement reporting, easy access to your money, a competitive foreign ex-change service and online account information.”