A SECURE INVESTMENT: THE TTSE

Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Eva Mitchell, Acting CEO at the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, about automating the exchange, support for small businesses, and welcoming new investors.

The Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange

(TTSE) was officially formalized under the provisions of the 1981 Securities Industry Act, after years of informal activity in the local securities market. Founded to provide oversight and facilitate the development of Trinidad and Tobago’s local capital markets, the TTSE has adapted to changing conditions and the evolution of Trinidadian and Tobagonian securities. In 1995, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established, invested with the responsibility to maintain surveillance over the securities market in Trinidad, while the TTSE assumed the role it continues to play today, as a regulator of trading activity, and of the activities of its members firms and brokers. Today, the TTSE is the largest stock exchange in the Caribbean, with a market capitalization of more than US$17 billion and a variety of large local companies listed, including Republic Bank, ANSA McAL, and West Indian Tobacco Company (WITCO).

EVA MITCHELL ACTING CEO

EMBRACING AUTOMATION

“Approximately ten years ago, the TTSE made the shift from a manual, open outcry trading process to an automated trading system, which includes a surveillance system, and we’re now fully automated,” says Eva Mitchell, Acting CEO at TTSE. “Our latest trading platform enables brokers to execute trading on behalf of their clients in an electronic manner, completely eliminating the need for an actual physical trading floor. It’s partly because of this that, as of 2019, we’re the largest stock exchange in the region, accounting for about 55% of the total regional market capitalization. Earlier in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, we introduced our online trading platform, TOP, which stands for TTSE Online Platform. What TOP does is allow investors the option of using the platform 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so they can enter an order anytime. It empowers the investor to take that step in terms of making a move in line with his or her investment decisions. This has been part of the strategic initiatives of the organization for some time, but timing is everything, and the timing was right during the pandemic, as the world itself shifted to a more online and digital approach.”

For the TTSE, this shift towards an online presence has tied in with its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve seen the effects of the pandemic within our local context and within financial services contexts, and the exchange is no exception to that,” explains Ms. Mitchell. “It changed the way we were doing everything - communicating, conducting business, and the way we were trading. Now, while we cannot alter what happens externally in terms of consumer economic activity, we at the Exchange do believe that this is a critical time for us to pivot, and to innovate ourselves. We took a position to place focus on our strategic initiatives, particularly those that related to digital platforms, in order to revitalize

our investors, and the way we approach our activities, and the offerings we make. In this, although online trading is not new to the region, having an online trading platform is a game changer – for us, and for our investors who are part of the diaspora, who might want to have ownership in local companies.”

SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS

A crucial aspect of the TTSE’s response to the pandemic has been its support for small businesses. “Businesses large and small continue to scramble to adapt to this new post-COVID environment, but where there is risk, there is opportunity,” says says Ms. Mitchell. “We see many smaller companies that have a unique advantage over corporations, in that they have the agility to tweak or re-engineer their business models to meet the changing needs of their customers. The TTSE is working with policy makers and with the government to help small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to survive the crisis and to take advantage of these new opportunities. Because of that, we continue to promote listings in our SME markets. Soon, we’ll also be launching our SME mentorship program, to help SMEs build the capacity to undertake a listing, and ensure that they get the benefit of professional insight andcompliance advice, helping them to get through the corporate and business aspects needed for listing. Gradually and successfully, the TTSE will ensure that those companies are able to advance to our first-tier or main market listing.”

TAPPING THE MARKET

“We place a key focus on investor education and awareness,” explains Ms. Mitchell. “As a result, we’ve recently undergone a rebranding exercise. We launched our new brand and website in the latter half of 2020 during the midst of the pandemic, which included a new logo. With that, we also launched our social media platforms and updated our website. The website has various portals that are specific to each investor or client. We have a portal that will attract companies. We have another that will provide information to investors, and then another that provides trading information. The idea was to ensure that the information is out there in a clean and easy way so that it’s accessible, accurate, and relevant. Any of our notices or promotions will go out using social media, as we see that as the most effective way to communicate, especially during these times. It’s something we didn’t have before, so it shows that we’re evolving.”

For the TTSE, the end-goal is to make the stock market more accessible to local and international investors. “As the world spends more time online, our digital platform will allow us to connect and engage with potential investors and entrepreneurs,” says Ms. Mitchell. “It’s an opportunity to showcase the Exchange, to tell people what we’ve been up to, and show them how we can partner to build our capital markets. We found that, based on the employable population locally, there’s a wide, untapped market that we’re working towards investing in the stock market, and bringing awareness as it relates to what the stock market can offer you and how you can take advantage of participating in the stock market. There’s a great pool of potential investors, and members that already participate in the stock market at a foreign and international level. Our goal is to look at foreign and local investors, people who are part of the diaspora, and ensure that they too can benefit from owning shares in our home-grown companies, and from investing in the stock market.”

SHAPING THE ECOSYSTEM

“The TTSE has a goal to become the leader in the securities industry in the region, and to become a trendsetter in terms of technology and technological advancement,” says Ms. Mitchell. “Since investors now rely so heavily on technology simply to get through their day, we want to place a greater emphasis on the use of digital platforms in our industry, in order to support trading and the markets, and to support our investors in their investment decisions. We’re also encouraging companies very eagerly and avidly to list on the exchange, working with the necessary stakeholders from the top-level down: with government, with various associations, companies, and investors, and with everybody that’s part of the Trinidad and Tobago ecosystem to bring about change.” c

“THE TTSE HAS A GOAL TO BECOME THE LEADER IN THE SECURITIES INDUSTRY IN THE REGION, AND TO BECOME A TRENDSETTER IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT,”