Sterling Asset Management 20th Anniversary 2001-2021

Challenges we overcame along the way Our business began in a crisis period, and it is a distinct irony that we have had our best performances in times of crisis for the markets. Case in point: Six months after we started, there were the 9-11 terrorist attacks in the U. S. This was a disruption like no other in recent history, bringing with it muchmarket upheaval. But it heralded something else: new investment instruments. In the U.S. it spawned a new type of high-quality security, U.S. Government agency range notes. Wemademajor investments in these notes and their strong performance propelled the growth of our company through much of the early 2000s. We held those securities into the next crisis, the global financial market meltdown of 2008 . The crisis had a disruptive effect but presented many great opportunities. The range notes that we invested in were callable and they were all called early in the crisis. This meant that we had a fair amount of cash to deploy in the market – at a time when corporate and municipal bond prices were at rock bottom. How Sterling changed the market We sought to fill that gap by identifying US dollar fixed income investments in the international market that had less risk than local investments and would provide an attractive return by holding their value over the medium to long term. This was a unique and novel idea at the time – very few people were buying bonds outright and even fewer people were looking at investments outside of Jamaica. When we ran the numbers, we found that global US dollar investments could produce a HIGHER return for investors in the medium to long term and also attracted LESS risk. Fortunately for us, it turned out that therewere peoplewho recognized this and were looking for better investment options. Demand was significant. I am continually humbled by the faith and confidence of our clients – but especially in those early years. This was a very different way of investing at the time and it was a true departure from the “main stream”. Our clients are always at the centre of what we do - That’s been our focus from the beginning, and we haven’t looked back. Bond yields available to Sterling investors in 2009 post the financial crisis Bond yields available to Sterling investors in 2020 during the COVID-19 market decline 2003 press ad highlighting the rates of return of up to 10% on AAA rated securities. 8.7% per annum 11.4% per annum 13.4% per annum 17.2% per annum 35.0% per annum We were able to buy good quality assets at “fire sale” prices. Many of our clients were also able to take advantage of these opportunities – and locked in great returns.