

The year has got off to a good start for Jamaican investment banker Paul Simpson with the investment vehicle he founded in 2013, Cornerstone earning an investment grade credit rating of “A” from Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS).
Last year he was awarded the national honour of the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD).
Cornerstone acquired the majority shareholding in Jamaica’s oldest brokerage house Barita Investments in 2018 for J$3 billion.
CariCRIS has assigned Barita an “ A+” rating.

This rating signifies Barita’s solid creditworthiness in the Caribbean market and highlights its status as a leading player in Jamaica’s securities industry.
Barita is strongly capitalised and is the largest securities dealer by shareholder’s equity holding over a quarter of the total capital in the entire securities dealer sector. It manages over US$1 billion in deals for its clients.
CariCRIS expects Cornerstone profitability to continue over the next 15 months driven by fair value gains and dividend income. Cornerstone now has around J$400 billion in assets under management. It began with less than J$20 billion in assets under management.

The Cornerstone Group is finalising transitioning into an officially recognised financial holding company. It has a valuation of around US$1 billion. Cornerstone’s footprint spans Jamaica, Barbados and the U.S.. It will be expanding its presence in the Caribbean.
Over a five-year period, Cornerstone has grown from US$100 million in assets under management to US$2.5 billion in assets under management. Its equity position has moved from US$13.7 million to over US$500 million.
Cornerstone is now putting the finishing touches to its 70 per cent stake in Bermuda’s Clarien Group which has a book value of US$144 million.

These grades from CariCRIS are all the more remarkable given these “ As” come after just seven years in full operation. Both Cornerstone and Barita are now in the company of older established Jamaican finance houses like Scotia Group Jamaica, NCB, and Sagicor who also receive favourable ratings from CariCRIS.
Founder, President and CEO of the Cornerstone Group, Paul Simpson who is 42 years old said: “ The achievement of the investment grade rating reflects another step forward in the execution of Cornerstone Group’s strategy and will support some of our growth initiatives that will become more evident over the next few months as we seek to create value for Jamaica and the region by transforming the access of Caribbean nationals across all socio-economic classes to wealth, banking and other financial services.”
Comments