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Tuesday, 26 April 2016 00:42 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Guardian Acuity Asset Management the fund management company has recorded steady growth in subscriptions for the year ended 2015.
The company which is a JV of Acuity Partners and Ceylon Guardian Investment Trust PLC has been in operations since 2012 and manages three unit trust funds.
Fund managers Sumith Perera (left) and Asanka Jayasekara
In year under review the funds under management of the company have increased from Rs. 1.9 billion to Rs. 5.8 billion, which is an increase of more than 200%. The Money Market Fund and the Equity Fund, which have been in existence since inception of the company, had seen the number of unit holders top 200. Guardian Acuity launched its Money Market Gilt fund in 2015, drew more than 80 investors and more than Rs. 800 million in funds.
As per the annual report recently released, the equity fund which is a long term investment plan which offers access to the stock market for busy professionals has, as at the end of 2015, returned a cumulative71.6% since inception in February 2012. The benchmark All Share Index in the comparable period gained 25.89% making the fund an ideal vehicle in which to build a diversified and dynamic portfolio. The money market fund, which gives access to short term corporate debt products, which are otherwise only accessible to sophisticated investors returned a cumulative 43.5% since inception in February 2012.
The benchmark for the fund, which is the NDBIB-CRISIL 91 day T-Bill Index, had gained 36.64% in the same period. The annualised average returns of both funds are 15.08% and 11.31% respectively in December 2015. For the quarter ending March 2016, the equity fund’s returns were down 10.78% against the ASI’s decline of 11.93%, caused mainly by market volatility. The current yield of the money market fund is 8.65 % p.a. (as of 15 April 2016). The company has embarked on an ambitious rollout plan for it products with clients able to buy their products at selected HNB branches.
With interest rates at elevated levels and share prices depressed , the fund managers Sumith Perera and Asanka Jayasekara are of the view that that this is the best time to enter the market in a disciplined way with periodic cash injections to the equity fund for investors looking for a medium to long term return. They pointed out that the best time to enter the market is during periods of uncertainty.
Further they feel that the corporate earnings will continue to grow and the stronger companies will continue to invest and generate above average returns. And the fund managers are confident that the companies in which the funds have invested in will provide strong returns in the long term.
