FAQ's

What is Ideal?

Ideal Finance Corporation Ltd. is an independent securities dealer.

Who owns Ideal?

Ideal Finance Corporation Ltd. is owned by the Lewis family and Chaired by Donovan Lewis.

How long have you been around?

The company was established in 1994

Where are you based?

We are based in Kingston, Jamaica at 17 Ripon Road.

Are you licensed by the FSC?

Yes, we are licensed by the FSC

What’s the difference between Ideal Finance Corporation and Ideal Portfolio Services?

IFC Ltd. deals with loans, micro-financing and cambio services. While IPS Ltd. handles all portfolio management services.

What are your Assets under Management (AUM)?

Our AUM is over 2 Billion JMD.

Are you connected to NCB?

No. We are an independent securities dealer.

Is it Ideal, or IDL?

It’s Ideal

Industry Terms

Equity

the value of the shares issued by a company.

Rate of Return

A rate of return is the gain or loss on an investment over a specified time period, expressed as a percentage of the investment’s cost. Gains on investments are defined as income received plus any capital gains realized on the sale of the investment. Rate of return can also be defined as the net amount of discounted cash flows received on an investment

Capital Appreciation

Capital appreciation is a rise in the value of an asset based on a rise in market price. It occurs when the asset invested commands a higher price in the market than an investor originally paid for the asset. The capital appreciation portion of the investment includes all of the market value exceeding the original investment or cost basis

Liquidity

Liquidity describes the degree to which an asset or security can be quickly bought or sold in the market without affecting the asset’s price

Profit

Profit is a financial benefit that is realized when the amount of revenue gained from a business activity exceeds the expenses, costs and taxes needed to sustain the activity

Revenue

Revenue is the amount of money that a company actually receives during a specific period, including discounts and deductions for returned merchandise. It is the “top line” or “gross income” figure from which costs are subtracted to determine net income.

Revenue is calculated by multiplying the price at which goods or services are sold by the number of units or amount sold.

Dividends

A dividend is a distribution of a portion of a company’s earnings, decided by the board of directors, to a class of its shareholders. Dividends can be issued as cash payments, as shares of stock, or other property.

Interest

Interest is the charge for the privilege of borrowing money, typically expressed as annual percentage rate. Interest can also refer to the amount of ownership a stockholder has in a company, usually expressed as a percentage.

Return on Assets

Return on assets (ROA) is an indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets. ROA gives an idea as to how efficient management is at using its assets to generate earnings. Calculated by dividing a company’s annual earnings by its total assets, ROA is displayed as a percentage. Sometimes this is referred to as “return on investment”.

Assets under Management

Assets under management (AUM) is the total market value of assets that an investment company or financial institution manages on behalf of investors. Assets under management definitions and formulas vary by company.

Share

A Share is a unit of ownership interest in a company.

Equity

When you buy or receive shares in a company, you become a part owner of that company. This is known as having equity in that company.

Shareholder

People who own shares in a company are referred to collectively as “shareholders” or
“Stockholders.”

Stock Split

This is the division of the existing shares of a company into larger number of shares, without changing the capitalization of the company. Each new stock will now be worth less depending on the ratio of the split. For example, if a stock with a market value of $10.00 splits for 4 to 1, each new stock will be worth one fourth of the previous price, that is $2.5 of each shareholder would get four shares for every one they owned previously. And, if the company had, let’s say one million shares outstanding before the split, it would now have four million shares outstanding and worth the same dollar amount of the one million shares. Usually, the rationale for stock split is that the lower priced stock might make the company more attractive to investors.

Ordinary Shares

Also known as “common stock”. As part of the percentage ownership described earlier the ordinary shareholder or common stockholder usually has four basic rights in proportion to the number of shares owned:

The right to receive dividends if and when these are declared by the Board of Directors. It is possible that the shareholders may not receive any dividends if the company performs poorly.

The right to vote at meetings of the shareholders.

The right to claim a portion of the company’s undivided assets, if the company is liquidated.

The right to subscribe to additional stock or share offerings before they are made available to the general public. This is known as pre-emptive right.

A company may also be authorized to issue more than one class of common stock or shares, some of which may not have voting rights. (Not all companies have this provision)

Preference Shares

Also called ‘preferred shares or stocks.” The holders of these shares have certain rights and privileges over ordinary shareholders. There are different classes of preferred shares, which confer different rights. The most common types give the preferred shareholder:

The right to receive dividends at a fixed rate prior to payment of dividends to ordinary shareholders.

The first right of payment should the company go bankrupt or be dissolved. Ordinarily no voting rights.

Bond

A bond is an interest bearing government or corporate debt security. It is a loan from the purchaser to the issuer which obligates the issuer to pay the bondholder a fixed interest at specific intervals and to repay the principal upon maturity. A bond issued by a company has no corporate ownership privileges as in the case of shares.

Stockbroker

Carries out your orders to buy or sell stocks. Some brokerage houses also provide you with regular information about market conditions affecting your investment, research material and advice on which stocks to buy or sell. He or she will also help you to keep an accurate and complete record of all your market transactions. After each transaction done on your behalf, your broker will also send you complete details.

JSE Index

Measures the performance of all the companies that issue ordinary stocks.

JSE Composite Index

Measures the performance of only the Jamaican companies that issue ordinary shares.

JSE Select Index

Measures the performance of the fifteen most liquid stocks. Liquidity is determined by the number of days traded over a three year period, number of times traded over a three year period and total ordinary transactions over a three year period. This index is revised annually.

JSE Cross-Listed Index

Measures the performance of the ordinary shares for foreign companies only that are listed on the Main Market.

JSE Junior Market Index

The JSE Junior Market Index measures the performance of all the ordinary shares listed on the Junior Market.

JSE USD Equities Index

The JSE USD Equities Index measures the performance of all the ordinary shares listed on the US Dollar Equities Market.

JSE Combined Index

The JSE Combined Index measures the performance of all the ordinary shares listed on both the Main and Junior Markets.

Financial Services Commission (FSC)

A government regulatory agency, which monitors the securities industry and enforces sanctions for violations of the industry’s regulations. The JSE is regulated by the FSC.

Initial Public Offering (IPO)

A corporation’s first offering of stock to the public.

Markt Value

Market Price at which buyers and sellers trade similar items in an open marketplace.

Traded Firm

This is when a stock price does not increase or decrease for the present day when compared to the previous close price.

Stock Exchange

A stock exchange is simply a marketplace where securities, that is, shares, stocks or bonds are bought and sold quickly, efficiently and under strict regulations for the protection of investors.