Having officially turned 45 years old on September 7, Barita Investments Limited kicked off celebrations on the day with a bell ringing ceremony at the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).

The ceremony featured remarks from Barita Interim Chief Executive Officer Dane Brodber, Barita Director Jason Chambers, CEO of Cornerstone Trust and Merchant Bank Limited, Barbara Hume and JSE Managing Director, Dr Marlene Street Forrest.

Brodber shared the timeline of Barita’s progress from its beginnings in 1977 through Cornerstone’s acquisition in 2018 and subsequent transformational growth to date; noting the legacy of Rita Humphries-Lewin and her leadership and pioneering work in the JSE, Barita, and the Barita Education Foundation.

Brodber noted Barita’s significant strides in being not only the future of money but also financial gamechangers.

He thanked Barita’s customers, shareholders, Board and various stakeholders for their support to date; and reiterated that despite having achieved success and a stellar reputation in the investment and brokerage industry, Barita will continue to execute on defining the future of financial services and remains committed to exceeding the expectations of stakeholders including its clientele.

During his address, Chambers noted that Barita remains committed to their mission of changing the lives of their key stakeholders through democratising the access of ordinary Jamaican and Caribbean people to wealth.

“We expect to achieve this by transforming the investing paradigm across the industry, elevating client experiences through innovation, and delivering compelling investment options and purposeful customer engagement,” he said.

In closing, he recognised the JSE under the leadership of Street-Forrest for continuing to push the boundaries to establish new frontiers, thus re-defining the status quo.

He reinforced the importance of Barita’s and the JSE’s long standing positive relationship as there is a natural alignment of minds with respect to their ethos and drive for innovation and engendering transformative growth.

For her part, Street Forrest commended Barita on its significant body of achievement during its four-and-a-half-decade long existence.

Hume expressed optimism about the future of Barita and noted that Cornerstone was proud of positive strides made by the company during its entire illustrious 45 years in existence and major transformational gains made since Cornerstone became a majority shareholder of Barita.

Hume also expressed optimism about the future of the 53-year-old CTMB; as with Barita they execute on the mission to democratise wealth and financial services.