Guardian Acuity wins consecutive Gold as Best Unit Trust Fund in Sri Lanka

NITF Chairman Manjula De Silva (left) handing over the award to Guardian Acuity Equity Fund Senior Fund Manager Asanka Jayasekara, CFA (Middle), and Guardian Acuity/Guardian Fund Management Director/Head of Research Tharinda Jayawardena, CFA (right)  

Guardian Acuity Asset Management (GAAM) continued on winning ways when its Guardian Acuity Equity Fund took home the Gold Award for Best Unit Trust Fund for the second consecutive year at the CFA Sri Lanka Capital Market Awards held in Colombo last week. Guardian Acuity Equity Fund provides an opportunity to general public to invest in Colombo Stock Exchange. 

The award is presented to the company applying continuous efforts to ensure best practices, plus, surpassing benchmarks despite the prevalent challenging investment environment. GAAM said it is privileged to come out on top in the sector for consecutive years, amply demonstrating its commitment to excellence in fund management. 

The Guardian Acuity Equity Fund previously won Gold for the Best Unit Trust Fund at the CFA Sri Lanka Capital Market Awards in 2018, whilst the Guardian Acuity Money Market Fund won Silver that same year. This follows similar success during the program’s 2017 and 2016 editions, underscoring the Group’s position as a consistent top performer in the Sri Lankan capital market. 

For consideration, CFA Sri Lanka and the panel of judges study companies that practice better compliance, risk management and transparency in asset management, whilst also ensuring best returns and giving priority to safeguarding the interests of unit trust holders. Guardian Acuity Asset Management has performed commendably in every sphere. 

“The Gold Award for the second-year running affirms the Guardian Acuity’s continuous commitment and investment in best-in-class service and exceeding expectations on governance principles. Whilst recognising the efforts of regulators and the industry to create an enabling environment for the local capital market to thrive, our success is also largely due to the valued efforts of Guardian Acuity Asset Management team and its investors,” avers GAAM Director Sumith Perera. 

The prestigious Capital Market Awards hosted by CFA Sri Lanka aims to recognise and inspire investment professionals, advocate standards of best practice and excellence. The recognition serves as the highest accolade within the local investment industry. The CFA called on the industry to work to further expand unit holders and enhance quality of information to investors. 

A joint venture between Ceylon Guardian Investment Trust PLC (a subsidiary of local conglomerate Carson Cumberbatch PLC) and Acuity Partners (a collaboration between Hatton National Bank and DFCC Bank), Guardian Acuity Asset Management offers two Unit Trust Funds. The Guardian Acuity Equity Fund was launched in 2012 giving the opportunity to the general public to partake in Guardian’s successful equity strategy in the Colombo Stock Exchange. The Guardian Acuity Money Market Fund invests in investment grade fixed income securities maturing within a year. 

The CFA society Sri Lanka is the local chapter of the CFA institute, the global body that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst curriculum and sets voluntary, ethics-based performance reporting standards for the investment industry. The award criteria include adoption of accepted performance reporting measures, efforts taken to improve investor communication and focus on compliance.