Acknowledging excellence: CFA Capital Market Awards provide vital recognition for the equity research analyst profession

CAL Securities Research Team. From left: CFA Head of Research Trisha Peries, Research Senior Analyst Nilakshi De Mel, Research Assistant Manager Ishara Nilam, Research Assistant Manager Pravir Goonewardene, CFA Chief Strategist Udeeshan Jonas and Research Senior Analyst Natalie Kulasekere

CAL Group CEO Ajith Fernando

With the ninth annual CFA Capital Market Awards - scheduled for June this year - fast approaching, the organizers CFA Society Sri Lanka reviews the award winners from the 2021 edition of its landmark event, which recognizes

and rewards professionals who have established benchmarks for the advancement of domestic capital market participants.

Among the five major accolades presented at the CFA, Capital Market Awards are the honours for the Best Equity Research Team, awarded to Capital Alliance Securities (CAL Securities) last year. The award recognizes teams working to develop research as an integral component of investment decision-making and promotes the provision of high-quality and timely research to all market participants.

Commenting on the award, CAL Group CEO Ajith Fernando notes: “At CAL Securities, we consider our research team to be a key contributor to not only the stockbroking unit but across the organisation. We were honoured to win the gold award for the best equity research team and best sector report at the 2021 CFA Capital Market Awards, and believe it is a testament to the team’s dedication to providing timely and relevant insights”. 

Reflecting on the role of investment research at CAL Securities, the team explains that it has evolved from catering purely to equity decision making to now cutting across all verticals and being a vital part of the organisation. 

As a result, the team at CAL Securities has witnessed significant changes both in its product offering and how insights are disseminated. Five to six years ago, its product line-up primarily catered to company and sector reports, and daily market reports whereas today, it includes partnered content to provide on-the-ground insights, primary research and macro research.

Head of Research at CAL Securities Trisha Peries, CFA, states that this has also led to a greater demand for macro and political research/insights: “Apart from equity research, there’s an expectation for equity research teams to have a much deeper knowledge of macroeconomic conditions and their effect on certain counters.”

In terms of what CAL Securities did differently to win Gold in the Best Equity Research Team and Best Sector Report categories at the 2021 CFA Capital Market Awards, the team highlights improved standards of content along with communicating the requisite level of detail to investors in a user-friendly manner.

Chief Strategist Udeeshan Jonas notes that the team has incorporated the feedback received from the CFA Capital Market Awards to tweak products accordingly. He believes that this feedback is not merely a requirement of the awards, but a market requirement that enables to uplift industry research standards, which “has also led to an improvement in reports over the years.”

As for further steps to be taken by the CFA Society, the team says helping to improve financial literacy and advocating for investment banking/equity research as a career option – not only at the university level but also in secondary education – should be on the agenda, as this will help provide a larger pool of talent for the industry at a time when attracting talent is becoming increasingly difficult.

CFA Institute is a global association of investment professionals offering the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Its Sri Lankan membership of over 240 members consists of CEOs, CFOs, portfolio managers, equity analysts, banking professionals, investment advisors and other senior-ranking financial practitioners.