Despite growing interest in wealth creation, many Jamaicans remain excluded from capital markets.

Limited financial education, narrow product understanding and regulatory systems built for a small segment of investors continue to restrict participation, a concern highlighted at the 21st Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Regional Investments & Capital Markets Conference, held from January 20-22 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

The issue was central to the panel ‘Creative Instruments to Enhance Market Liquidity and Investor Inclusion’, where regional and international industry leaders explored how reform, innovation and education must work together to deepen liquidity and expand access across Caribbean capital markets.

PROVEN Wealth President & Chief Executive Officer Luwanna Williams pointed to investor understanding as one of the most persistent barriers to inclusion. “People buy what they understand. It’s our responsibility to ensure we are explaining what we’re doing in the world of finance and breaking down the investment opportunities available based on risk profiles,” Williams said.

Williams noted that participation in capital markets remains concentrated among institutional and sophisticated investors, limiting trading activity and the flow of capital into sectors that could support broader economic growth. “Creativity and inclusivity go hand in hand. We are the stakeholders of this industry as investment bankers, and we have the responsibility to build the industry and deepen the market,” she said, stressing that collaboration among regulators, product designers and market participants is essential.

The panel explored how innovative instruments, including green, social and sustainability-linked bonds, could support liquidity while directing capital toward infrastructure, housing and climate-resilient development. Drawing on her experience structuring securities and raising capital for renewable energy projects, Williams highlighted structural and regulatory constraints that limit the adoption of such instruments, despite growing global demand. She also linked the urgency for reform to climate change and recent extreme weather events, noting the region needs clearer frameworks to mobilise capital for sustainable development.

Another recurring theme was the fragmentation of Caribbean capital markets. Williams called for greater alignment among regional regulators and exchanges to unlock scale and facilitate cross-border investment. “We have so much more room to grow when you look at our North American counterparts, our European counterparts, and our Latin American counterparts…we will not be able to accomplish those goals if we don’t have the regulation that encourages it and have everybody working together collaboratively,” she said.

Technology was highlighted as a key enabler of inclusion and integration. Tracy Greeley, Solution Consultant for Treasury and Capital Markets at global financial technology firm Finastra, discussed how automation and real-time settlement can reduce friction and attract new investors. “Our technology solutions are multi-jurisdictional, multi-currency, multi-exchange… real-time communication and settlement can reduce barriers and bring new investors and new money into the market,” Greeley said.

Across the panel, there was broad agreement that expanding access requires more than new instruments alone. Without stronger investor education, clearer entry points and regulatory reform that encourages participation, efforts to deepen liquidity across the region will remain constrained.