Fidelity, the financial services group with the adage, ‘Helping You Create and Manage Wealth,’ has been pioneering educational financial seminars in Nassau and Freeport since the late nineties. At those early events, attendance was usually in the double digits and people appeared far less money-savvy than attendees today. President of Fidelity Merchant Bank & Trust, Gregory Bethel, perhaps the original financial evangelist of the save and invest credo, says the seminars work and that there is an increasing number of people getting on-board to a better financial destination.
“I believe that our seminars have helped people become more aware of how to manage their money effectively and in a less painful way than they might have expected,” said the Fidelity president. “The attendees at our most recent professional women’s seminars, both in Nassau and Freeport, seemed better informed and more cognizant of the need to set financial goals and plan a more secure future through the better management of their money. This is good news because women in general and Bahamian women in particular, need to be more engaged and committed to financial planning because statistics show that not only do they head most Bahamian households, but they typically end up supporting their children alone if their relationships fail and they have a longer life expectancy than men, and therefore a longer retirement period.”
Freda Madrisotti, one of the client account representatives who helped organize and present the seminar, said that the interest in Fidelity products and services keeps growing as Bahamians become more comfortable setting out their life goals with the help of a Financial Advisor.
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“Fidelity Trusts or Living Wills, College Savings Plans and Individual Retirement Accounts are now mainstream products for many people,” she said.
Ursula Rolle, Fidelity assistant vice president who manages investments and fiduciary services said that buying shares in mutual funds such as the Fidelity Bahamas Growth and Income Fund has also become a part of people’s financial planning model as they learn why and how to diversify their investments.
Brokerage accounts too are becoming a familiar part of the investment strategy landscape. Velma Miller, Fidelity’s senior securities trader explained that anyone buying or selling shares should have a brokerage account as it is also the most efficient way to consolidate holdings in publicly traded companies. “We keep track of everything for you,” she said, “and also offer free collection and deposit of dividends and interest payments, free custody of securities, free daily e mail stock market updates and quarterly statements and many other useful custodian services.”
Wendy Warren, CEO and executive director of The Bahamas Financial Services Board was a seminar speaker on career success, and a panel of Fidelity managers: Ursula Rolle, Asst. Vice president, Velma Miller senior securities trader and Jocelyn Demeritte, client account manager answered questions. With such hot topics as, ‘what every women should know before marriage, motherhood, separation or divorce,’ the difference between rich and poor women,’ and ‘how to win in a man’s world,’ the seminar proved a winner with the over 200 hundred women who attended.
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Faith Butler said she came to learn more about investing so that both she and her money could be working! “I want to learn how to put my money to work, I’m sure there is more I could be doing that I’m not doing now,” said the College of The Bahamas lecturer, a sentiment echoed by Mazell Knowles who works at the Supreme Court. Caroline Sweeting from the Department of Public Health said that as a single parent, she needs to maximize her salary through financial prudence. “I must get the most out of the money I earn,” said the young mother.
Legal secretary Kim Jones response was typical when she said she felt motivated to complete the seminar questionnaire that will tell her how much she should be saving for a comfortable retirement. “If I start now, I won’t have to save so much each month to get a good retirement,” she said. “I learnt today that my salary and bank savings account aren’t the only ways I can earn money.”
Seminar participants each received a financial planning package that included Fidelity’s “Wealth Tracker”, an innovative and helpful financial planning tool that calculates the future values of varying amounts of monthly savings at several different interest rates compounded over 5, 10, 15 , 20 and 30 years.
Fidelity Merchant Bank & Trust is a financial services group offering a comprehensive range of both domestic and international banking, pension, trust, brokerage, investment and other financial products and services. They have offices in Freeport on the Mall Drive and in Nassau on Frederick Street and offer free to the general public, educational financial seminars throughout the year and speakers for company and group presentations, contact E mail: info@fidelitybahamas.com
