Cabinet has confirmed the re-appointment of Tevaga Viane Tagiilima as the CEO of the Unit Trust of Samoa (UTOS) to serve for a further three years.
Tevaga holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and possesses considerable and highly relevant financial management experience from both government and state-owned enterprises.
Tevaga began his career at the Ministry of Finance where he remained for 11 years, advancing through the ranks to hold the position of ACEO for the Budget Division in 2006. His career includes regional experience, having also held the role of Director of Finance for the Pacific Theological College in Fiji.
This is Tevaga’s second term as CEO of UTOS. Prior to this role, Tevaga served at the Land Transport Authority as ACEO for Corporate Services.
The Unit Trust of Samoa is an initiative established in 2009 to provide an investment vehicle for local and overseas based Samoans and Samoan businesses. It opens opportunity for small investors to access a range of investments, spreading risk and leaving the management of their savings in the hands of experts.
Under Tevaga’s leadership, UTOS declared an interim dividend to be paid to its Unitholders in 2020, in light of the global crisis. It was the first time since its establishment in 2010 as an investment vehicle, that UTOS had declared an interim dividend.
“The relatively strong performance of the Unit Trust to date has provided the opportunity, during these uncertain times, to support its unitholders financially while we face the COVID-19 crisis,” Tevaga had said at the time.
In July 2021,’despite the economic downturn, the Unit Trust of Samoa declared a dividend of .08sene per unit, with an annual total return to unitholders of 11.70%. The total amount paid to unitholders from that distribution amounted to $6.60 million tala.
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