Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Tuesday, 10 June 2014 00:35 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Global Banking and Finance Review is an organisation which is focused on providing a balanced view of informative and independent news within the global financial community. It also reviews and awards companies in their respective categories in order to offer more credibility and highlight the key achievement or progress.
GAAM being a relatively newcomer to the fast growing asset management industry in Sri Lanka was successful in securing this position by excelling in the performance of its fund and its significant growth. The GAAM Equity Fund has outperformed the Colombo Bourse with a growth of 32.60%which is 18.23% above the benchmark, since inception. The GAAM Fixed Income Fund which invests in money markets has given investors an annual return of 11.75%, coupled with dividends.
The growth has consistently been above short term interest rates. The equity fund has focussed on a strategy of active management for medium to long term value growth in diverse growth sectors of the economy, while the Fixed Income Fund invests in well researched short term financial instruments of investment grade quality. Consistency and stability in performance have been key objectives.
GAAM’s strategy is to grow in a sustainable manner in order to avoid volatility and to increase the fund size to offer better yields. This has worked very well as its subscriptions grew steadily while redemptions were minimal, which made the fund more attractive. The marketing efforts and distribution through HNB and its own direct sales team has given GAAM a wider exposure and access to investors which worked in synergy with the growth strategy. Today the company has an investor base of over 220.
Sumith Perera, Fund Manager, GAAM said: “The core of our investment decision process is strong fundamental research which has helped us deliver high returns from both our equity and money market funds. Although markets have been volatile, we have attempted to keep our returns consistent without taking undue risks, by adequate diversification. The FI fund declared dividends of Rs. 0.65 in 2013 and 2014 respectively maintaining a good pay-out to investors.”
Guardian Acuity Asset Management Ltd. commercially commenced operations in February 2012 with the purpose of bringing together the expertise of the two joint venture partners, Ceylon Guardian Investment Trust PLC and Acuity Partners Ltd. Acuity Partners is a joint venture between the HNB and DFCC; while Ceylon Guardian is a subsidiary of the Carson Cumberbatch Group. Ceylon Guardian’s management team contribute to the venture through their fund management expertise, while Acuity bring in their partner network and reach in marketing and distribution of financial products. Currently the unit trusts are marketed through designated branches of the HNB.
The company is an authorised unit trust management company, accredited by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, holding licenses for two unit trust funds – namely the Guardian Acuity Fixed Income Fund and the Guardian Acuity Equity Fund. The company markets a range of investment plans under the brands MoneyMax and MoneyMaker which are structured using these two licensed funds as the underlying investment vehicles.
The Board of Directors of GAAM comprises directors drawn from the two JV partner companies, who carry with them a wealth of experience in the financial services industry. Ruvini Fernando and Ray Abeywardena representing the two JV partners are the Joint Managing Directors of GAAM.
