ECCB Governor congratulates UTC GBFL for Launching Balanced Mutual Fund in Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis
11 July 2025, Basseterre, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis – The Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy N. J. Antoine, congratulates Unit Trust Corporation Global Balanced Fund Limited (UTC GBFL) for launching its US Dollar-denominated Collective Investment Scheme in Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis on Thursday, 10 July.
The launch enables even more people to invest in UTC GBFL’s balanced mutual fund of international stocks and regional and international bonds, with as little as US$100 (the equivalent of EC$270) to start. Subsequent investments are US$20 minimum (EC$54).
During his remarks at the launch event, held at the St Kitts Marriott Hotel, Governor Antoine said the UTC GBFL’s balanced mutual fund product aligns with the ECCB’s vision for financial inclusion within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). Financial inclusion ensures access to financial services, such as banking, credit, payments, investments and insurance. Governor Antoine says this access must be delivered in a manner that is affordable, fair and transparent.
The Governor also pointed out that the mutual fund aligns with the ‘wealth creation’ pillar of the ECCB’s strategic vision of The Big Push challenge, which issues a clarion call for a decade of transformative actions that will double the GDP of the economies of the ECCU. He reiterated that the ECCB’s 2022/2023 Financial Inclusion and Literacy Survey revealed that only 1 in 25 persons (4.0 per cent) in the ECCU invest in the Eastern Caribbean Securities Market. The Big Push envisages a shift to at least 1 in 5 persons (20.0 per cent) over the next decade.
“We have to start moving into an investing culture. We have to move into digital literacy…so that more and more people do not merely strive but thrive,” the Governor said. He also welcomed UTC GBFL’s digital onboarding platform.
UTC GBFL’s Collective Investment Scheme offers diversification and professional management in a regulated and transparent environment. UTC GBFL is the first mutual fund to be launched in the ECCU. It already has a presence in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. UTC GBFL and the custodian for its investors’ funds—the Eastern Caribbean Central Securities Depository (ECCSD)—are both licensed and regulated by the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC) under the Securities Act of 2001.
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About the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) was established in October 1983. The ECCB is the Monetary Authority for: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
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