Bourse Securities marks 30 years of innovation

WHEN Subhas Ramkhelawan founded Bourse Securities in 1995, TT was reeling from over a decade of economic decline, with high unemployment and an uncertain financial climate. Many were leaving for what they believed were safer prospects abroad.

But Ramkhelawan, then a 38-year-old senior manager at Republic Bank, saw opportunity in adversity.

"We started the company in June 1995, to be precise. And I set up the company at that time (when) were just at the end of 13 consecutive years of GDP decline," he told guests at Bourse’s 30th anniversary gala at MovieTowne Banquet & Conference Centre, Port of Spain on June 28.

"Unemployment in 1995 was in double digits – 18.5 per cent, 15 per cent male and 21 per cent female.

"People were concerned about their future, about whether they should continue to live in Trinidad."

Many chose to leave. "They were migrating, proposing reasons that I could not be proud of, that they were applying for things like refugee status and so on."

Ramkhelawan suggested it became a moment of personal reckoning – a choice between comfort and risk.

"When you are well placed, making that move is a very challenging move. You have a wife. You have two children. And you want to provide the best for them in the circumstances that TT was in at the time.

"Why would you go and jump into that water after 30 years of decline with unemployment at 18.5 per cent? It’s a good question to ask."

Ultimately, his decision was about freedom and purpose.

"Is it better to be a lion, punished and free, or feasted and fettered in a gilded cage? And there is no black and white answer for that contemplation," he told the audience.

Bourse began as an investment advisory firm when Ramkhelawan was initially barred from full stockbroker membership.

"The stockbroker club did not want Subhas Ramkhelawan to become a stockbroker," he recalled, noting it took a year of external pressure before he was admitted as a full member of the Stock Exchange by late 1996.

Once inside the market, Bourse made its name by seizing underexplored opportunities.

Ramkhelawan described how the firm built its early momentum on government-issued Public Sector Involvement Bonds.

"We found a way, one, to package those bonds and sell them, buying retail from $5,000 and $6,000 and selling wholesale to the institutions. And we found a way… to take those tax credits, package them and sell them to wealthy individuals who had a high tax."

At the time, Bourse was one of just two non-bank branches involved in selling the bonds – competing against 125 bank outlets.

"And we had ten per cent of the market out of 126 branches. And we're the behemoths of the banking sector. So innovation has a way of creating differentiation and beating back the competition."

He suggested that the strategy of problem-solving and product development shaped Bourse’s reputation.

"Good relations and innovation – that set us apart from the rest," Ramkhelawan said.

In 2005, the firm listed the SavInvest India Asia Fund on the TT Stock Exchange – a first for the region.

"We are still the only English-speaking Caribbean entity that I know of which was able to get a foreign portfolio investor licence in India," he told the audience. "And that didn’t happen by chance."

He shared how, during an approval meeting in Mumbai, a regulator asked where TT was.

"It was the hardest question that he thought he could ask. But it was the easiest question for me to answer. And I must say that I have an unpaid debt to Brian Lara for what he did without knowing it. Because I said to him, 'Do you know who Brian Lara is?' Yes, he is from TT. That was it."

But even the most successful financial products, Ramkhelawan cautioned, have a limited shelf life.

"You cannot get the job done with existing products only. Those products have a shelf life.

"And those shelf lives are becoming shorter and shorter. And to get ahead, remember your DNA. Innovate, innovate, innovate or die on the chopping block."

Today, Bourse Securities remains one of TT’s largest independent securities firms, offering local and international stockbroking, mutual funds, repurchase agreements, fixed income investments and tailored portfolio management for institutional and high-net-worth clients.

Ramkhelawan handed operational leadership to his son Sarodh last year but remains the founding director.

The younger Ramkhelawan praised his father’s foresight and the company’s loyal team.

"That success doesn't just happen by chance. It is the result of hard work, the ability to consistently overcome challenges, and of course, a bit of luck," he said.

Ramkhelawan (Sarodh) made clear that Bourse’s achievements reflected more than one man’s vision.

"A visionary leader, however, is only as successful as the people who surround him and support him. And a company like Bourse could never be a one-man show."

Sarodh acknowledged former directors and long-serving colleagues, including former chairman Dr Trevor Farrell, the late Don Mullings and other board members.

"This success is yours as well as mine. And to our board members with us since inception… thank you for your guidance and tireless dedication over the years."

As for Bourse’s future, Sarodh conceded it was unknowable but promised the firm would remain adaptable.

"While we usually know what we want to become, when or even if we achieve it often relies on factors beyond our control. Someone has reminded me over the years… the future is bright, it is often our vision that is great."

He pledged continued improvements in client service, employee experience and partnerships.

"We will continue to build this organisation in a manner that maintains your trust and confidence in us."

Ramkhelawan, the founder, shared characteristic pragmatism and optimism.

"The future is not ours to see… Que sera sera. But we can't do that. We cannot just put our hands up in the air and say, let's see what the future brings. We have to organise ourselves and be critical strategic thinkers and planners… and that must be our duty and our mantra."