2 months ago
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VM Investments Limited, VMIL, will be pursuing a more aggressive expansion programme and digital transformation as the two key pillars to drive business, CEO Rez Burchenson has said.
VMIL wants to grow the company’s asset-management operations at home and in the Caribbean and has launched a digital transformation office for more efficient service delivery, Burchenson reported to the company’s shareholders at their annual general meeting last Wednesday.
The company already has a presence in the Caribbean market, having acquired Republic Funds (Barbados) Incorporated, now called VM Wealth Funds, in January 2024 in a $56-million deal.
Before the end of 2025, Burchenson said investors are likely to see two or three acquisition deals being closed by the company and that in the weeks ahead, shareholders will be hearing more about plans for new products, both in Jamaica and in Barbados, on the asset-management side of the business.
Coming off a profit slump in 2023, VMIL rallied to a net profit of nearly $556 million at the end of 2024, up from $199 million. “So the realisation of benefits or gains in 2024 that flow to shareholders was us executing on our private equity strategy,” Burchenson said.
The company intends to double down on its private-equity investments.
“When we look at the SME space, we see lots of great businesses that need capital to grow revenues, to hire more persons, to pay more taxes, to send more kids to school, to list on a stock exchange for persons to buy more stocks, to get more dividends, and the cycle continues,” the chief executive remarked.
VMIL made a loss of $50 million in the March 2025 quarter, however, in a turnaround from $456 million of profit in the comparative period in 2024, but Burchenson anticipates a turnaround in coming months.
In its home market, the company’s investments include real estate company Kingston Properties and food manufacturer Home Choice. Its holdings formerly included interest in Barbados-based online lender Carilend, but ownership of that stake shifted to VMIL’s parent, VM Financial Group, last year.
Burchenson said that when VMIL bought Carilend in 2019, the company spent close to $100 million. Despite a shaky start, however, the number of registered users climbed from 16,000 to 58,000 at the launch of the Jamaican operation in August 2020 and then Trinidad, he said. Up to the end last year, there were 92,000 users.
“At times, and actually along the way, we were questioned about this investment. However … we stuck to this investment and were able to realise a gain,” he said, while underscoring that there were lots of opportunities in the private-equity space.
“We don’t profess that all investments will do well, as is the nature of investments; but we ensure, assisted by our robust enterprise-management framework, our governance framework, our risk analysis, that we, as best as possible, choose more winners going forward,” Burchenson added.
VMIL is “‘focused on driving the asset-management business locally and regionally,” he said.
Spurring the business, he said, calls for a reimagining of asset management, both in the traditional sense and in the real estate space, while promising the rollout of new developments this year.
English (US) ·