JB Vantage wins Best Unit Trust Fund at CFA Capital Market Awards 2021

• Assuring its stability and reaffirming firm’s commitment to equity market investing
• JB Vantage’s Unit Trust recognised by CFA for fifth year

The JB Vantage Value Equity Fund was recognised as the Best Unit Trust Fund at the eighth annual CFA Capital Market Awards, held virtually recently in Colombo. This is the third year JB Vantage Unit Trusts have won the Gold award in the Best Unit Trust category in the five years the awards have been held. 

This recognition has been given for the best practices implemented in asset management. In the past five years JB Vantage has also received one Silver and three Bronze awards in the Unit Trust Category at the CFA Awards. 

Speaking of the win JB Financial CEO Christine Dias Bandaranaike said, “It is always a great honour for us to be recognised by CFA Sri Lanka. We find the award process encourages us to strive to be better each year. This recognition once again is a testament that JB Vantage’s prudent investment philosophy, concentrating on strong fundamentals and resilient earnings, has proven to be the best recipe for our success. The past couple of years have been extraordinary with all the uncertain economic conditions. We believe that this award will add to our credentials and build further trust and confidence from the general public.”

She added: “This highly regarded award reflects JB Vantage’s continuous quest for improvement and transparency, of which we are very proud. We adopt a culture of excellence and the strength of our business is rooted in our focus on our clients and our people. We are the only fund manager in Sri Lanka to adhere to both the Asset Manager Code and the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) – two rigorous best practices recommended by the CFA Institute.”

JB Vantage Value Equity Fund Portfolio Manager Murtaza Jafferjee, CFA said, “We are humbled to have been recognised by our peers for this award. We are also acutely aware that excellence is a journey not a destination and thus continue to strive to improve.”

The main objective of the Capital Market Awards, organised by CFA Society Sri Lanka is to encourage and reward industry professionals who introduce and adhere to strong standards of excellence in the capital market under five categories – Best Equity Research Report, Best Sector Report, Best Investor Relations, Best Stock Broker Research Firm, and Best Unit Trust.  

In the Best Unit Trust category the CFA Institute’s Asset Manager Code of Professional Conduct is used to award points to the Unit Trust that has best followed its standards. The JB Vantage fund management team was recognised for putting investors first; full disclosure of risks and ensuring its funds are driven by efficient market fundamentals. 

The firm’s flagship product is its JB Vantage Money Market fund, another CFA Sri Lanka Gold award winner. Earlier this year the fund received a credit risk rating of [SL]A+mfs from ICRA Lanka Ltd. The fund is the second-largest Money Market Fund in terms of assets under management (AUM) in Sri Lanka with Rs. 21.49 billion as of end March 2021. The fund was initiated on 4 August 2011 and has been in existence for nearly a decade consistently outperforming the benchmark (NDBIB CRISIL 91-day T-bill Index). Deutsche Bank AG acts as the trustee of the JB Vantage Unit Trusts which are licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka. 

CFA Sri Lanka is the local affiliate of the CFA Institute, the premier global association of investment professionals. The CFA Institute stands for creating an environment where investors’ interests come first and markets function at their best.