Inside Your VM Magazine

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INSIDE Y UR VM VM INVESTMENTS LTD EXCELS

Awarding Outstanding Talent

VM Foundation LAUNCHED

VM Takes Social Enterprise to Schools

VICTORIA MUTUAL GROUP

GROWING

STRONG We are Customer Obsessed!

CONTENTS

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VM Foundation Launched

We are Customer Obsessed!

Saving Students through Scholarships and Bursaries

Randolph Lopez School of Hope selected as main Labour Day Project

Awarding Outstanding Talent: Aiko Jones

WE HAVE NEVER BELIEVED IN STANDING ON THE SIDELINES AND WATCHING LIFE HAPPEN. That’s not who we are. At the Victoria Mutual (VM) Group we believe that it’s our job to make a difference, not just by offering the best products and services, but by tangibly impacting people’s lives, helping them to solve real problems and achieve real goals. It’s all part of our mission that says we are ‘committed to partnering with our communities to improve quality of life’. And we take it seriously.

So, here’s how we’ve been carrying out this mission since the start of 2018.

Member Protection: Going Phishing?

Credits Produced by Group Corporate Affairs and Communications

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VM Takes Social Enterprise to Schools

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VM INVESTMENTS LTD EXCELS Victoria Mutual Investments Limited (VMIL), the parent company for Victoria Mutual Wealth Management is pleased to report its results for the financial year ended December 31, 2017. The VMIL Group’s profit before tax was $467.83 million, up $74.09 million or 18.82% over the previous year. Net profit after tax was $346.3 million, an increase of $29.02 million or 9.15% over the previous year’s $317.28 million. The effective tax rate in 2017 was 25.98% (2016: 19.42%). VMIL Group revenue for 2017 was $966.46 million, up $155.65 million over $810.8 million for 2016. This 19.2% growth in revenue was driven by Net Fees and Commissions, which jumped $220.58 million or 78.9% to $500.16

million due to our success in meeting the funding needs of the local and regional productive sector through our Capital Markets Unit.

Devon Barrett, the CEO of VMIL, said, “The results reflect another year of overall solid performance by Victoria Mutual Investments Limited Group.

In 2017, our Capital Markets team facilitated funding to the manufacturing, construction, utilities and financial sectors amounting to $18.3 billion, a 48% growth over the previous year. Our Unit Trust portfolios exhibited impressive growth, with our Bond Fund II and III portfolios being the top performing US Dollar Funds for 2017, providing returns of 6.3% and 7.3%, respectively.”

VM Foundation Launched The Victoria Mutual Foundation was launched On Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in St Andrew. The launch event, which was attended by VM Group Chairman Michael McMorris; VM President and Chief Executive Officer Courtney Campbell; Minister of Health Dr The Honourable Christopher Tufton; members of the VM Group and VM Foundation boards; as well as Foundation beneficiaries and other guests, was an emotional event at times, as VM Foundation Manager Brigette Levy was brought to tears as she spoke about the eagerness of VM staff members who have signed up to volunteer on the Foundation’s projects since its work started last year.

Team Member Dionne Taylor – compliance clerk and a Foundation volunteer in the Social Enterprise in Secondary Schools Programme, said working with the Foundation has been the most fulfilling experience of time at VM so far. She encouraged other Team Members to volunteer as well.

“In whatever way you can, for as long as you can – volunteer. I guarantee you will not regret it,” she said.

VM Future Plan Scholarship recipient Travis Rowe gave a stirring testimonial as a beneficiary of the Foundation’s efforts.

He said he was motivated to reach for excellence.

“The Victoria Mutual brand is not an ordinary brand so I can’t afford to be an ordinary person,” he said.

The Foundation, which aims to improve the quality of life of Jamaicans at home and in the diaspora, will focus on youth empowerment; leadership and nation building; and health and family.

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The Victoria Mutual brand is not an ordinary brand so I can’t afford to be an ordinary person.

THE FOUNDATION, WHICH AIMS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF JAMAICANS AT HOME AND IN THE DIASPORA, WILL FOCUS ON YOUTH EMPOWERMENT; LEADERSHIP AND NATION BUILDING; AND HEALTH AND FAMILY.

WE ARE CUSTOMER OBSESSED! At VM we are obsessed with providing our Members with the highest level of customer service. It’s who we are.

This obsession forms part of everything that we do.

Our Service Mission is, “To be the PINNACLE of Service Excellence for our Members and Clients, at all points of contact.” This captures our drive to outperform all others in our delivery of customer service. To make it easy for our Members to share feedback and or suggestions we’ve created a webpage just to hear from you about our service delivery.

Visit: https://vmbuildingsociety. vmbs.com/customer-service/ and help us serve you better.

THE POWER OF VM MEMBERSHIP Your financial institution which operates for your benefit! The Power Of VM Membership gives you access to countless member benefits, including scholarships and bursaries.

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Saving Students through

Scholarships and Bursaries

A solid education is a key part of building Financial Independence and the VM Group takes pride in supporting the educational goals of our student savers through the provision of scholarships and bursaries!

Applications for the VM ‘Head-Start’ Scholarship Programme opened on March 19, with members being given the opportunity to receive financial support for their educational dreams. Are you a student saver with an active account? Then you may qualify, as the programme caters to all student members who are actively saving .

The scholarships and bursaries fall under four categories: 1. The VM GSAT ‘Head-Start’ Bursary ($20,000) is awarded to the student saver with the best GSAT performance in each school as ranked by the Ministry of Education. This is a one-time payment and is open to students in prep, primary and all-age schools islandwide; 2. The VM Junior Plan ‘Head-Start’ Scholarship ($40,000) is awarded to the three top VMBS savers who have sat GSAT, one from each county, to assist with their secondary-level education; 3. The VM Future Plan ‘Head-Start’ Scholarship ($130,000) has a maximum four-year tenure and is awarded to four VMBS savers towards local tertiary education; 4. The VM Master Plan ‘Head-Start’ Scholarship ($160,000) with the beneficiary being a saver pursuing final-year studies at a local university.

We want to ensure that you’re kept informed about all things scholarship. You can browse our website, http://bit.ly/2IDlKgu to find out about scholarship terms, conditions and regulations, as well as the different categories included in the programme.

Application forms are also available online. If you prefer hard copies, visit any of our branches islandwide. If you have questions, feel free to email them to victoriamutualscholarships@gmail.com APPLICATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018.

ON YOUR WAY HOME

The search for a new home can be tricky. It can also be frustrating. But, it doesn’t have to be. We’ve launched an eDevelopers newsletter to make your search easier.

It will include the best deals and the most sought-after properties on the market for you to review. Our mortgage calculator will also be included in the newsletter to help you decide which home is right for you, and we’ll also include links to get the application process started right away. Remember, at VM we’re focused on helping you own your own home. Look out for eDevelopers!

THE RANDOLPH LOPEZ SCHOOL OF HOPE SELECTED AS MAIN LABOUR DAY PROJECT The Randolph Lopez School of Hope has branches in Kingston, Portland and St Thomas works to better the lives of more than 560 students with intellectual disabilities was selected as the VM Group’s main labour day project for 2018 Formerly called the School of Hope, the school which caters to students with special needs, was the beneficiary of funds collected at the 2018 National Leadership Prayer Breakfast (NLPB). Your Group was the main sponsor for the NLPB which saw leaders from all sectors of the society gathered for a time of reflection and a recommitment to championing the cause of national unity and upliftment. Reverend Astor Carlyle, head of the Webster Memorial United Church delivered the main message at the event held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on January 18th.

The theme for this year’s prayer breakfast was ‘Let’s Stop It! ... Return to Righteousness’ and focused on the issues of crime and violence.

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AWARDING OUTSTANDING TALENT

Jones, who won a gold medal for Jamaica in the shot put at the 2016 Carifta Games, in Grenada, is also a member of the National Senior Volleyball Team.

Aiko Jones multi-talented athlete and head girl at Wolmer’s Girls’ School was the recipient of the VMBS sponsored Young, Outstanding, Upcoming, Talented, Headliner (Y.O.U.T.H.) Award at the 2017 RJRGLEANER Communications Group National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards, held in January 2018.

The Y.O.U.T.H Award is presented to a Jamaican junior athlete who has displayed outstanding talent locally or internationally.

As the recipient Jones, walked away with the VMBS trophy.

Jones, who won a gold medal for Jamaica in the shot put at the 2016 Carifta Games, in Grenada, is also a member of the National Senior Volleyball Team. Definitely a Young, Outstanding, Upcoming, Talented, Headliner, don’t you think?

We take pride in sponsoring the RJRGLEANER Communications Group National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards and the Y.O.U.T.H. Award because it allows us to contribute to the development of our young athletes, and we know they’ll ultimately enhance the Jamaican sports industry.

VM Foundation Takes Social Enterprise to Schools We’ve launched the VM Foundation but the work had already started as we take our mission to empower individuals, enhance their financial wellbeing, and have a lasting impact on their lives very seriously.

We’re excited to share that we recently launched one of our flagship initiatives – the Social Enterprise in Secondary Schools (SESS) Project, which is being undertaken in partnership with the British Council. This exciting programme seeks to uplift and empower young people around financial literacy while teaching them about social enterprise development.

UK-based NGO, RIO, which has successfully developed similar initiatives in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Pakistan, will train mentors and teachers who will act as guides for the students who have enlisted in the programme. So far, the RIO team has trained a small group of trainers on the content and delivery of the materials, as well as 24 teachers and

24 mentors from within VM. The SESS Project has three phases which will happen over a three-year period.

In the first year, it will be piloted in six schools, two from each county, to benefit over 300 students from grades seven to nine, and 24 teachers. These institutions are Denbigh High, Clarendon; Montego Bay High, St. James; Charlie Smith High and Kingston Technical High, Kingston; Greater Portmore High, St. Catherine; and St. Elizabeth Technical High, St. Elizabeth.

The teachers and mentors will deliver the information and encourage the students to develop ideas for social enterprises, and ‘pitch’ them to potential sponsors in early September. The best pitches will be supported to create the social enterprise for their schools. We can’t wait to hear their ideas!

We expect the initiative to impact over 16,000 students from grades seven to nine and 272 teachers from 50 schools over three years.

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MEMBER PROTECTION

GOING PHISHING? We take cyber security very seriously and we want to ensure that you know what to look out for so that you can stay safe. Have you ever heard about Phishing? Here’s what you need to know.

WHAT IS PHISHING? It’s a popular scheme that involves tricking persons and even businesses into providing sensitive information, typically by pretending to be an actual company or entity the victim does business with. This solicitation can occur over the phone or by email.

HOW TO SPOT PHISHING SCHEMES • Phishing mostly occurs by email. The sender of the email pretends to be a legitimate bank/entity and asks the victim to confirm personal information. This normally includes some form of threat which is intended to scare the user into action, such as claiming that if the information is not updated, the victim’s account will be closed.

• Do not click on links in suspicious emails requesting personal information. The link included in the email will route the victim to a phony

web page that looks like a legitimate banking website. If the instructions on the website are followed, your personal information can be captured. Also, clicking on links in a phishing email can lead to the downloading of a malware on to your computer or smart device. Banking malware is designed to capture usernames and passwords so that the identity thieves can access your online banking information.

• Phishing can occur by phone (calls and text). If you’re contacted by your ‘bank’ to say you were a victim of fraud, never provide personal information over the phone. Banks may legitimately contact you if they notice unusual transaction patterns on your accounts or cards. However, the banks will only ask you to confirm the particular transactions; they don’t request your account number, card number or PIN. If you’re uncomfortable, take the name of the agent and call the bank to verify if the person is legitimate.

If you are a victim of a phishing attack or are suspicious about any information received from VMBS, immediately make contact with the nearest branch or contact us at 1-888-937-8627 or 876-754-8627.