Amid wide-ranging shocks in the local and global environment, Victoria Mutual Investments Limited (VMIL), the wealth building arm of the VM Group, said it is bullish on delivering key strategic objectives which were specially crafted to propel its growth agenda.

Re-energised by a brand transformation undertaken by the group late last year, the company said the move has not only helped to refresh its identity but is also positioning the business to become more competitive and agile as it delivers service to customers despite challenges in the current environment.

During its last financial year, the financial services arm maintained resilience, turning $1.8 billion in revenues and $564 million in profits. Up to the first quarter period ended March, the company’s revenues amounted to $335 million. Profits, however, dipped to $8.9 million down from $90 million in the corresponding quarter of 2020, owing to unanticipated losses or reduction in gains from investment activities impacted by volatility in global and local markets.

Speaking at the company’s fifth annual general meeting this week, chief executive officer (CEO) of VMIL Rez Burchenson said the company in the midst of the challenging market environment remains confident that focus on its strategic pillars will help the business to navigate the turbulent environment and allow it to respond to new opportunities that may emerge.

“We are well placed to maintain a very balanced business whether it be in asset management, capital markets, and trading or net interest income. We will continue, as much as we have this balance business, to build more resilience. We will continue to accelerate on our asset management platforms even as we continue to build out and have a very balanced business,” he stated.

In its plans for oversees expansions, the company through its 2028 vision said the focus was to extend its footprints in other territories across the Caribbean, Central America and Latin America. Last year the company acquired full shareholding in Republic Funds, a financial service institution in Barbados of which the transaction is expected to be finalised in August. Prior to that it also acquired stakes in Carilend, a fintech entity which specialises in online lending services. Over the next 12 months the online loan platform is seeking to also extend its services to Trinidad and Tobago.

Tied to its 2022 initiatives, the investment company, which deals in asset management, treasury management, bonds and other market trading, said the plans for expansion were significantly geared towards driving profitable revenue growth, widening market scope and growing client and membership bases. Through aggressive financial literacy campaigns, the company has been targeting diaspora markets as they move to attract more of these persons to invest locally. During the first three months of this year, the firm said it has executed two roadshow across states in the US with an expectation for at least eight more to be undertaken during the course of this year.

“A new era has begun for VMIL and the VM Group. The ongoing execution of the board-approved three-year strategic plan continues to fuel [our] transformation,” commented Chairman Michael McMorris.

“As we surpass the two-year mark of this ongoing pandemic, VMIL will continue striving to be the leading Caribbean-based provider of financial services in 2022,” Burchenson added.