Tweet
David Smith is willing to trade FX on behalf of the Jamaican gov't
Al Edwards
Friday, June 15, 2007
David Smith
Lead principal of Olint Corp, David Smith, would be willing and able to trade foreign currencies on behalf of the Jamaican government if he were asked to do so.
Jamaica's debt to GDP ratio stands at around 130 per cent, meaning 60 cents of every dollar goes into debt payments. Jamaica has a fiscal deficit of 5.4 per cent, continues to miss its revenue projections, and this year's budget allocated J$380 billion for expenditures with revenues and transfers totalling J$241 billion. The picture is a rather bleak one and the country's exchequer will be hard-pressed to meet the government's obligations.
Trading on behalf of the Government of Jamaica
Speaking with Caribbean Business Report from his home in the Turks & Caicos Islands, David Smith said: "If asked, I would utilise my skills on behalf of my country, and it is a responsibility I would take on. However, trading foreign currencies for a members' club is a totally different proposition from trading for a country. I would insist on having a solid team of hand-picked traders around me in order to get the very best returns for Jamaica."
Smith added that this in no way was an unusual remedy to address Jamaica's financial woes, pointing to Australia's use of currencies trading to virtually eliminate its national debt, and General Motors turning to FX trading to shore up revenues from flagging car sales.
Over the last few quarters, there has been a discernible pattern of falling profits among the financial institutions listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Many attribute this to falling interest rates and the fact that government paper is no longer the cash cow it once was. At the same time, Smith's Olint has gone from strength to strength with many of its clients reporting above average returns.
So have local financial institutions considered using FX trading to a greater extent, or employing Smith's services for that matter? "A few of the smaller institutions have made inquiries, but in the main I cannot say that Jamaican finance houses are beating a path to my door. I have noticed that many of the larger finance houses are sending staff members to be trained in FX trading,"
said Smith.
Spawning imitators
Smith's success has spawned imitators, some of whom proclaim to be trading on Olint's behalf. Others promise investors greater returns than Olint. A number of training courses are now on offer, luring investors who wish to acquire the secret of Smith's success. Smith is supportive of efforts by Jamaicans to educate themselves on how the foreign currencies trading market works and to understand the risks and returns that go with it.
"Olint Corp is a club of which I am also a club member. I was asked by club members to trade on their behalf, and so it would be unfair to the rest of the club members to trade for any of these new entities. For these new FX outfits to say that David Smith or Olint trades on their behalf is simply not true.
"I must take this opportunity to stress here that we do not solicit clients and that we are a club in every sense of the word. For some time now, we have not been accepting new funds from referrals," explained Smith.
The foreign currencies trader, now based in Turks & Caicos, said that it was quite possible that the new players on the block were making better returns.
"I can't knock anyone, and as you well know, I have been knocked myself. Foreign currencies' trading is relatively new to Jamaica. I have twelve years of experience as a trader, eight with JMMB and four going out on my own. I have had my share of losses and had my share of gains, but I am tested and proven. I have formed a system which does not take on too much risk. With the size of the club growing over the last couple of years, the most important thing is managing risk. I cannot overstate the importance of having stop losses in place. All I do is trade foreign currencies. I do not dabble in the stock market or real estate or commodities. My sole concern is FX trading."
Smith added that it was important for traders to sharpen their technical skills and attend a number of courses on FX trading - in other words traders should learn their trade, so to speak.
Trading in Turks&Caicos
Last week, the Premier of the Turks & Caicos Islands, Michael Misick, speaking at an Observer business luncheon, said that David Smith had chosen to live in his country because of the high crime levels in Jamaica and that as far as he was aware, Smith did not possess a licence to trade securities or other financial instruments there.
Smith sought to lend clarity: "Trading on the international currencies market is open to anyone, a licence to do so is not needed. What I can tell you, Al, and I have them right here, not only do I have a licence to trade securities and other instruments from the Turks & Caicos Financial Services Commission, but I also have a licence to trade mutual funds. I hope that clears things up."
Jamaican financial institutions caught cold
For some time, Jamaican financial institutions were offering derisory returns, sometimes 5 per cent a year. Investors went along with it with local finance houses insisting better was not to be had.
Over the last few years, Smith's Olint Corp has whetted the appetite of investors by consistently besting the returns of local finance houses. Smith has made a quantum leap in the Jamaican financial sector, a paradigm shift which sees investors demanding and expecting more.
"We are now seeing the advertisements in the papers offering new products that promise higher returns, the very latest being this PPN. The question I ask you is, where were these products before? For a long time, they could have offered Jamaican investors better returns but opted not to do so."
Al Edwards
Friday, June 15, 2007
David Smith
Lead principal of Olint Corp, David Smith, would be willing and able to trade foreign currencies on behalf of the Jamaican government if he were asked to do so.
Jamaica's debt to GDP ratio stands at around 130 per cent, meaning 60 cents of every dollar goes into debt payments. Jamaica has a fiscal deficit of 5.4 per cent, continues to miss its revenue projections, and this year's budget allocated J$380 billion for expenditures with revenues and transfers totalling J$241 billion. The picture is a rather bleak one and the country's exchequer will be hard-pressed to meet the government's obligations.
Trading on behalf of the Government of Jamaica
Speaking with Caribbean Business Report from his home in the Turks & Caicos Islands, David Smith said: "If asked, I would utilise my skills on behalf of my country, and it is a responsibility I would take on. However, trading foreign currencies for a members' club is a totally different proposition from trading for a country. I would insist on having a solid team of hand-picked traders around me in order to get the very best returns for Jamaica."
Smith added that this in no way was an unusual remedy to address Jamaica's financial woes, pointing to Australia's use of currencies trading to virtually eliminate its national debt, and General Motors turning to FX trading to shore up revenues from flagging car sales.
Over the last few quarters, there has been a discernible pattern of falling profits among the financial institutions listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Many attribute this to falling interest rates and the fact that government paper is no longer the cash cow it once was. At the same time, Smith's Olint has gone from strength to strength with many of its clients reporting above average returns.
So have local financial institutions considered using FX trading to a greater extent, or employing Smith's services for that matter? "A few of the smaller institutions have made inquiries, but in the main I cannot say that Jamaican finance houses are beating a path to my door. I have noticed that many of the larger finance houses are sending staff members to be trained in FX trading,"
said Smith.
Spawning imitators
Smith's success has spawned imitators, some of whom proclaim to be trading on Olint's behalf. Others promise investors greater returns than Olint. A number of training courses are now on offer, luring investors who wish to acquire the secret of Smith's success. Smith is supportive of efforts by Jamaicans to educate themselves on how the foreign currencies trading market works and to understand the risks and returns that go with it.
"Olint Corp is a club of which I am also a club member. I was asked by club members to trade on their behalf, and so it would be unfair to the rest of the club members to trade for any of these new entities. For these new FX outfits to say that David Smith or Olint trades on their behalf is simply not true.
"I must take this opportunity to stress here that we do not solicit clients and that we are a club in every sense of the word. For some time now, we have not been accepting new funds from referrals," explained Smith.
The foreign currencies trader, now based in Turks & Caicos, said that it was quite possible that the new players on the block were making better returns.
"I can't knock anyone, and as you well know, I have been knocked myself. Foreign currencies' trading is relatively new to Jamaica. I have twelve years of experience as a trader, eight with JMMB and four going out on my own. I have had my share of losses and had my share of gains, but I am tested and proven. I have formed a system which does not take on too much risk. With the size of the club growing over the last couple of years, the most important thing is managing risk. I cannot overstate the importance of having stop losses in place. All I do is trade foreign currencies. I do not dabble in the stock market or real estate or commodities. My sole concern is FX trading."
Smith added that it was important for traders to sharpen their technical skills and attend a number of courses on FX trading - in other words traders should learn their trade, so to speak.
Trading in Turks&Caicos
Last week, the Premier of the Turks & Caicos Islands, Michael Misick, speaking at an Observer business luncheon, said that David Smith had chosen to live in his country because of the high crime levels in Jamaica and that as far as he was aware, Smith did not possess a licence to trade securities or other financial instruments there.
Smith sought to lend clarity: "Trading on the international currencies market is open to anyone, a licence to do so is not needed. What I can tell you, Al, and I have them right here, not only do I have a licence to trade securities and other instruments from the Turks & Caicos Financial Services Commission, but I also have a licence to trade mutual funds. I hope that clears things up."
Jamaican financial institutions caught cold
For some time, Jamaican financial institutions were offering derisory returns, sometimes 5 per cent a year. Investors went along with it with local finance houses insisting better was not to be had.
Over the last few years, Smith's Olint Corp has whetted the appetite of investors by consistently besting the returns of local finance houses. Smith has made a quantum leap in the Jamaican financial sector, a paradigm shift which sees investors demanding and expecting more.
"We are now seeing the advertisements in the papers offering new products that promise higher returns, the very latest being this PPN. The question I ask you is, where were these products before? For a long time, they could have offered Jamaican investors better returns but opted not to do so."
