Asia Securities selected Sri Lanka’s best stockbroking research provider

• Sweeps research awards at 5th annual CFA Sri Lanka Capital Market Awards

 Reinforcing the view of many of the most sophisticated investors in Sri Lanka’s stock market, Asia Securities Ltd. was crowned the Best Stockbroking Research Team at the annual Sri Lanka Capital Market Awards hosted by the CFA Society of Sri Lanka on 1 August. 

Asia Securities also dominated the Best Equity Research Report category – winning both the Gold and Silver awards for its reports on Sampath Bank and Central Finance by Kanishka Perera and Lakshini Fernando respectively. This sweeping success at the Capital Market Awards is unprecedented and cements Asia Securities’ reputation as Sri Lanka’s leading independent stockbroking firm.

Asia Securities came under new internationally-experienced ownership in 2015, embarking on a mission to provide a differentiated world-class research service to local and domestic investors. Its recent recognition as the best in the industry is testimony to how the firm has helped investors gain deeper insights into the Sri Lankan market and generate higher investment returns. 

Combined with a mix of deeper analysis, user-friendly distribution, unique investor events, top corporate access and a deep-rooted research culture, Asia Securities has truly set a new benchmark in equity research in Sri Lanka. 

Dumith Fernando, Chairman of Asia Securities and also a Director of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), remarked: “We set out to establish something different in this market – an objective, investor-oriented and more in-depth research and corporate access offering that could help clients generate higher investment returns. With an internationally-experienced team, we wanted to produce the first homegrown truly world-class research product.”  

Commenting on the recent awards, he said: “We are delighted and humbled by being recognised as the top research team, especially given the high quality of a few of our competitors. We are fortunate to have a talented and dedicated team led by Kanishka Perera. We are also grateful for our clients who provided helpful feedback and reaffirmed the value of our research.”

Kanishka Perera, the Senior Vice President and Head of Research at Asia Securities, added: “Within just two years we have established the most comprehensive and consistent stock coverage, with stocks representing over 70% of the market capitalisation of the CSE under coverage.  As an independent organisation we have put investors first and provided unbiased research opinions – a quality appreciated by all types of investors.”  According to Perera, “Asia Securities’ research’s depth and breadth of offering, quality and accuracy were perhaps key factors in receiving such recognition at the recent CFA Sri Lanka Capital Market Awards.”

The Asia Securities Research (liquidity-weighted) top-picks portfolio of diversified stocks has generated a total return of 14.8%, outperforming the CSE’s All Share Price Index by 107% and the S&P20 Index by 26% in 2017 year-to-date.

Asia Securities is Sri Lanka’s leading independent equity brokerage firm and is the local market execution partner for several of the world’s leading investment banks and brokers. The firm has a 26-year history of leading market share and is also the only broker that ranked in the top three in terms of both exchange turnover and trade volume last year. Its client base includes prominent foreign and domestic institutions, foreign and domestic high net worth individuals and family offices as well as domestic retail investors. 

Asia Securities’ research is widely considered the best in the market by the most sophisticated investors and includes coverage of 60 companies comprising 70% of the market capitalisation of the Colombo Stock Exchange. Asia Securities is also a leading provider of corporate access, particularly to foreign institutional clients.