Barita Investments Limited

What it is

Barita, together with its subsidiary Barita Unit Trusts Management Company Limited, provides securities brokerage, money market, cambio (foreign-exchange dealing), investment banking, and funds management in Jamaica. Its product shelf spans a capital growth fund, FX bond and growth portfolios, an income portfolio, a money market fund, a real estate portfolio, pension fund management, and an individual retirement scheme.

As of 2024, Barita manages over JMD 400 billion in client assets — call it roughly US$2.6 billion — making it one of the largest pools of managed money in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Who owns it

Barita has been a member of the Cornerstone Financial Holdings group since its acquisition by Cornerstone in 2018. As of September 2023, Cornerstone Financial Holdings held 75.16% of Barita’s shares, with First Citizens Investment Services at 7.44% and founder Rita Humphries-Lewin at 2.16% — leaving a free float of roughly 15%.

In March 2025, Cornerstone sold a 4% stake in Barita to the National Insurance Fund for JMD 3.67 billion, a transaction that slightly widened the public float while raising capital for the group’s deal pipeline.

Who runs it

Ramon Small-Ferguson has been Chief Executive Officer since March 1, 2024. He also serves as Managing Director of Barita Unit Trusts Management Company Limited, with a professional background spanning capital markets, asset and wealth management, and investment banking.

Board Chairman is Mark Myers. A dedicated CFO at the Barita entity level is not disclosed in available sources; group-level finance is overseen through the Cornerstone structure.

The money, in plain words

In the financial year ended September 30, 2024, Barita brought in JMD 9,994.68m (US$63.8m) in revenue — up 10% from the prior year — and kept JMD 3,885.38m (US$24.8m) as net profit. That means it retained nearly 39 cents of profit from every dollar of revenue — a net profit margin of 38.9% (our calculation), exceptional for a financial services firm.

Total assets climbed 11% to just over JMD 142 billion (US$907m), but leverage has risen sharply alongside that growth. Operating cash flow turned negative in FY2024 at JMD −5.6 billion, while total debt expanded to JMD 101.1 billion — a ratio of debt to equity of roughly 2.4x that demands close watching.

Over the seven years since Cornerstone acquired it, Barita has grown its net worth elevenfold — from a net worth of JMD 3 billion in 2018 to JMD 35.5 billion in 2024. For every dollar of equity owners have put in, the business earned back about 11 cents in FY2024 — a return on equity of roughly 10.9% (our calculation), respectable though lower than its peak years.

What it is doing now

In January 2026, Barita completed the acquisition of 100% of JN Fund Managers Limited (JNFM), which received regulatory non-objection from the Financial Services Commission, making JNFM a wholly owned subsidiary. The transaction, valued at approximately JMD 4.2 billion (US$26.8m), is set to create one of Jamaica’s largest asset managers, overseeing a combined portfolio exceeding JMD 500 billion (US$3.2 billion).

Separately, Barita shareholders voted in January 2025 to reorganise the company, along with sister firm Cornerstone Trust and Merchant Bank and subsidiary Barita Unit Trusts, into a new financial holding company called Barita Financial Group Limited. Its real estate arm, MJR Real Estate Holdings, has also acquired over 2,000 acres of land for development into residential, commercial, and light industrial projects.

What to watch

• Cash flow recovery. Operating cash flow was negative JMD 5.6 billion in FY2024, driven by high unrealised gains and a sharp rise in receivables. Turning that positive is the clearest near-term test of financial health.
• JNFM integration. The deal’s success hinges on Barita’s ability to execute a complex integration, realise projected synergies, and manage its leveraged balance sheet.
• FY2025 earnings trend. For the twelve months ended September 2025, unaudited results showed net operating revenue fell 15% year-on-year to JMD 8.46 billion, driven by a 43% drop in investment gains, with net profit declining 21% to JMD 3 billion.
• Rate environment. The Bank of Jamaica’s recent cuts in its key policy rate are expected to reduce borrowing costs, which would ease pressure on Barita’s heavily repo-funded balance sheet.

This is news, not investment advice.