Sterling Asset Management marks silver jubilee with Impact Award, $1.2m Joy Town gift

Sterling Asset Management Ltd has used its 25th anniversary to introduce a community impact honour and to give J$1.2 million to the Joy Town Community Development Foundation (JTCDF), while executives reviewed the firm’s financial record and social giving since it began operations.

The first Sterling Impact Award went to JTCDF at the company’s 25th Anniversary Press Launch, held Tuesday at the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston. Leadership also looked back on Sterling’s track record from its establishment in 2001.

President and chief executive officer Charles Ross said Sterling now oversees more than US$500 million in assets and has guided clients through severe regional economic shocks, among them the 2008 global financial crisis, Jamaica’s National Debt Exchange, and repeated currency devaluations.

He pointed to the firm’s main Sterling Global Fund, which has delivered an average yearly return of 10.6 per cent. Money placed in the fund when it started has multiplied by ten, Ross said.

“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,” Ross 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,” he added.

The anniversary programme also showcased Sterling’s corporate social responsibility work.

Ross said the firm has given more than $7 million to Crime Stop Jamaica since 2021 for crime-prevention work and has put $5 million into expanding tertiary study options for young Jamaicans over the last five years.

Michelle Valentine, assistant vice president of marketing and communications, said Sterling’s philanthropy rests on a lasting pledge to Jamaica’s development.

“You cannot separate economic prosperity from social progress, and you cannot claim to be invested in Jamaica without being invested in Jamaicans,” Valentine said.

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 said the debut Sterling Impact Award would come with a J$1.2-million contribution to JTCDF’s Taking Charge of Your Future (TCYF) programme.

That programme assists at-risk children aged seven to 12 in Trench Town, Denham Town and nearby areas through remedial schooling and behavioural support. From its start in 2014, it has returned 229 children to the formal education system.

JTCDF President and Project Manager Major Richard Cooke received the award and praised the alliance, stating that Joy Town’s purpose is to change fragile communities through learning and social care.

“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.”

Sterling said backing communities, together with serving its clients, will stay at the heart of its mission as the company enters its next phase.