Sterling Asset Management marks 25 years with $1.2m gift for Kingston at-risk children

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Sterling Asset Management Limited marked a quarter-century in Jamaica’s investment sector by introducing the Sterling Impact Award and committing $1.2 million to the Joy Town Community Development Foundation (JTCDF).

The firm hosted its 25th anniversary press launch at the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston on July 14, 2026. Guests heard how Sterling has grown, with assets under management (AUM) now exceeding US$500 million.

President and Chief Executive Officer Charles Ross said the company has stood with clients since 2001 through major regional shocks, among them the 2008 global financial crisis, Jamaica’s National Debt Exchange, and repeated currency devaluations. He noted that the flagship Sterling Global Fund has delivered an average annual return of 10.6 per cent, so that one dollar placed at launch is worth $10 today.

“Twenty-five years ago, three of us had a belief, a fairly simple one, that Jamaican investors deserved better. They deserved access to global markets, honest advice, and a financial partner who would be with them through every part of their lives,” he said. “The ultimate milestone is seeing our clients’ investments grow with us, seeing the creation of intergenerational wealth and seeing the next generation continue to manage the investments with the same prudence and restraint as their parents.”

Ross linked that long-term client focus to Sterling’s wider community work. Since 2021 the firm has given more than $7 million to Crime Stop Jamaica to aid national security, and over the last five years it has put $5 million into tertiary education pathways for young Jamaicans.

“You cannot separate economic prosperity from social progress, and you cannot claim to be invested in Jamaica without being invested in Jamaicans,” Michelle Valentine, Sterling’s assistant vice president of Marketing and Communications, said in her remarks. She added, “We have never believed that responsibility ends once a cheque is written. Real impact requires consistency. It requires commitment. It requires showing up again and again, long after the cameras have left and the headlines have faded.”

Valentine closed by announcing the first Sterling Impact Award and the $1.2 million pledge for JTCDF’s Taking Charge of Your Future (TCYF) programme. The initiative serves at-risk children aged 7 to 12 in Trench Town, Denham Town, and nearby areas. From 2014 it has offered remedial schooling and behavioural help, and 229 participants have returned to the formal education system.

Major Richard Cooke, JTCDF president and project manager, thanked Sterling as he received the award. “Our greatest reward is when we see lives impacted. Part of why Joy Town exists is to help transform our inner cities into peace-loving, God-fearing, productive, and happy communities. When we’re impacting 30 children in a high school, the entire school is impacted, and the entire community,” Cooke said. “We’re thankful for firms like Sterling that really get involved and are serious about giving the kind of support that is needed.”