NAMAL’s National Equity Fund pays dividends for 20th consecutive year

National Asset Management Limited (NAMAL, announced that the company’s flagship fund the National Equity Fund (NEF) paid a dividend of one rupee per unit to Unit holders for the year ended 31 March. NEF is the only Equity Fund to have made continuous dividend payments since its inception including the exigent times in the industry.

NAMAL Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer Avancka Herat stated that the fund outperformed the CSE All Share Price Index (ASPI) on an YTD, 12 months & 24 months by 5.51%, 9.44% and 17.99% and attributed this superior performance to timely asset allocation. He further stated that the NEF which is classified as a Balanced Fund was the best performing fund in its respective segment. The fund also achieved a CAGR of 14.71% on a dividend re-investment basis since its inception in December1991 to 28 February 2013. NEF was launched in 1991 and currently has Rs. 1.7 billion in assets under management, with annual dividend payouts being made at a historical average of Rs. 1.22 during the 20 year period. NAMAL is Sri Lanka’s first unit trust management company, having commenced operations in 1991, with a 20-year track record of successfully investing in the Sri Lankan equity and debt markets. NAMAL currently operates 8 unit trusts, including the flagship National Equity Fund and the only listed unit trust. The principal shareholders of NAMAL are Union Bank of Colombo PLC and DFCC Bank PLC.