About Us : Ceybank Asset Management Ltd

Ceybank Asset Management Limited is a leading Sri Lankan Asset Management Company, incorporated in 1991.

The Company has the backing of four strong institutional shareholders namely Bank of Ceylon (44%), Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (26%), Unit Trust of India (17.5%) and Carson Cumberbatch PLC (12.5%).

Ceybank Asset Management Limited is involved in the following business activities.

  • Management of Unit Trusts Funds
  • Management of Institutional Client Portfolios
  • Providing Advisory Services to high net worth individuals and institutional investors both foreign and local

Ceybank Asset Management Limited has an in-depth insight into the working of the Capital markets and Money markets in Sri Lanka. The Company is involved in advising and structuring Unit Trust Funds and Investment Portfolios both in Equities and Fixed Income for clients to access the Sri Lankan Capital Market.

Our Investment Philosophy is value oriented and Investment approach is research driven. We buy stocks where the management has a good track record in delivering performance and are fundamentally sound, at reasonable prices. In the case of fixed income securities, we always emphasize the need for capital preservation and will seek to maximize returns by managing the duration of the portfolios efficiently in relation to market interest movements.

Our Employees are an integral part of our success. As a responsible Employer, we encourage continuous professional development of our Employees

Ceybank Asset Management Limited is a socially responsible Company and invests in Investor education the objective of creating a more knowledgeable investor. The Company representatives conduct workshops and training programs for School Teachers, Students and Investors country wide. These programs are conducted independently and also jointly with the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Colombo Stock Exchange.

Profile of the Shareholders

Bank of Ceylon
www.boc.lk

The premier state owned Commercial Bank with an Asset Base of LKR LKR 2,900Bn which is 23% of the Sri Lanka’s total banking sector (LCBs) assets and with a deposit base of LKR LKR 2,470Bn. Established in 1939 the bank has firmly entrenched as Sri Lanka’s premier financial services organization offering a broad range of services and holds the leadership position in its assets, deposits, and foreign currency remittances.

The Bank boasts of a wide network of 646 Branches and 773 ATMs locally and 4 overseas branches in India, Maldives and Seychelles, a limited service branch in Hulhumale and a fully owned subsidiary in London, UK..

The Bank was rated as the No 1 Brand in the country for the 12th consecutive year by Brand Finance Lanka in 2020 with a brand value of LKR 47.9Bn and is rated “AA-(lka) / Stable Outlook” by Fitch Ratings, and ranked among the 1000 largest banks in the world.

Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd.
www.srilankainsurance.com

Established in 1962, the Sri Lanka Insurance is the largest and strongest composite insurance provider in Sri Lanka owned by the State, with an asset base of LKR 235Bn. The company also has the largest Life Fund in the insurance industry of LKR 134Bn and a strong capitalization of LKR 6Bn.

With strong re-insurance arrangements, a highly experienced technical knowledge base and the widest network spread across the country, the company has over 59 years’ experience in fulfilling the insurance needs of the Sri Lankan people , honoring the largest claim ever paid of LKR 39.5Bn and the largest bonus ever declared to the life policy holders of LKR 8.7Bn.

The company has been affirmed by Fitch Ratings at AA(lka) with Stable outlook.

Carson Cumberbatch PLC
www.carsoncumberbatch.com

Carson Cumberbatch PLC is a diversified conglomerate incorporated in Sri Lanka with business interests spanning across South East Asian region. The core business interests of the group include Investment Holdings and Financial Services, Brewing, Oil Palm Plantations, with business interests in the Real Estate and Leisure Sectors with an annual consolidated turnover of LKR 115Bn and assets over LKR 197Bn in both Sri Lanka and overseas.

Unit Trust of India
www.utimf.com

One of the largest unit trust managers in India with over 55 years of experience in managing more than 138 unit schemes and over 9 Mn unit holders, and more than US$ 158Bn (INR 11,612Bn) assets under management. UTI Mutual Fund has a track record of managing a variety of schemes catering to the needs of every class of citizens across India.

UTI AMC has the backing of five strong institutional shareholders namely T. Rowe Price International Ltd. (23%), Punjab National Bank (15.24%), State Bank of India (9.99%), Life Insurance Corporation of India (9.9%) and Bank of Baroda (9.99%).

Board of Directors

The management of Ceybank Asset Management Limited is vested in the Board, comprising eight Directors with rich experience and expertise in the financial sector in Sri Lanka and abroad.


Ms. Vasantha Govindan - (Director)

Vasantha Govindan has more than 18 years of experience in the area of Finance, Capital Markets and Fund Management in UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd.

She is currently in her role as CEO (SUUTI) managing the activities of the Specified Undertaking of UTI (SUUTI) owned by the Government of India

During her career in UTI, she has handled various assignments and extensively worked in the areas of Investment Management , Venture Capital , resolution of stressed assets and investor relations. She has also represented the interests of the SUUTI on the Board of Directors of SUUTI promoted companies.

Vasantha Govindan holds Bachelor degree in Commerce from Bangalore University and has completed her Post Graduation in Business Management.

Mr. R M N Jeewantha - Director

Mr. R M N Jeewantha joined Bank of Ceylon in 2002 as a Management Trainee, He is a graduate of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and holds a Bsc. Accountancy (Special) degree. Furthermore, he completed his MBA at the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) and is also a member of the Institute of Certified Professional Managers of Sri Lanka (ACPM) and an Associate Member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (AIB).

Though his forte lies in Treasury Management and Investment Banking he also possesses vast experience in branch banking, credit management and financial management. In the field of Treasury Management, he commenced his career at the Dealing Room in 2008 as a Trainee Dealer and successfully rose to the position of Head of Treasury and holds the position of Assistant General Manager (Treasury). He also received international exposure at the Bank of Ceylon, London Branch.

Apart from Treasury functions, he heads of the Committee for the Investment in Government Securities, member of the Investment Committee and Secretary of Asset & Liability Management Committee of Bank of Ceylon. He is also the CEO of Bank of Ceylon Primary Dealer Unit.

Presently, Mr. Jeewantha is a Director on the Board of Lanka Securities (Pvt) Ltd and is also a member of the Standing Technical Evaluation Committee (STEC) of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation from August 2018.

Mr. G. A. Jayashantha - Director

Mr. Jayashantha appointed to the Corporate management of the bank as the Deputy General Manager Retail Banking Range II from August 2020 and currently serving as the Chief Risk Officer. He joined the bank in 1997 as a Management Trainee and has assumed duties with retail banking specializing in retail and SME credit and branch operations in his early part of his career and then he joined the Treasury Division and serving there more than 10 years in various capacities in the sphere of Dealing, PDU and ALM. His immense contribution towards the success of bank’s first international bond issue, dollar denominated debenture issue and raising funds from international market via various instruments to the bank were quite significant while serving in the Treasury Division. He received 8 years executive management experience and held the positions of AGM (Recovery Corporate) AGM (Risk Management) AGM (western Province South) and AGM (Offshore Banking) before he was promoted to the grade of Deputy General Manager. While serving as Assistant General Manager he was a member and the Chairman of the Bank’s Disciplinary Authority Panel and served there almost 5 years.

He is also a Director of Property Development Management Company Limited and Ceybank Asset Management Limited.

He graduated from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Sri Lanka in 1994 with a B.Sc Business Administration (Special) degree in First Class. He holds a Master of Arts in Financial Economics at University of Colombo and also holds a Diploma in Credit Management. He is an Associate Member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka.

A.D. Perera - Director

Mr Dayaratne Perera began his career in the Insurance Industry in the year 1998 as a Management Trainee. He was graduated from the University of Colombo and he holds a Special degree in Physics with a second class (Upper division) honors -  BSc. (Hons).  After graduation, he was privileged to be part of the Academic staff of the same university in the capacity of an Assistant Lecturer, but he left the position on his own accord after about one year and joined the corporate sector.

He is a Chartered Insurer and a Fellow member of the Chartered Insurance Institute (FCII), London. He is also a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Insurance Institute. - ANZIIF (Fellow) CIP.

He obtained his Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) from the Post Graduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

Currently he holds the position of Deputy General Manager (Life Insurance) at Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd.
He is the present Chairman of Life Insurance Forum (LIF) - formed by Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL) in order to address the common issues face by the Life Insurance Industry of Sri Lanka.

 

Ms Sriyani Kulasinghe - Director

Ms. Sriyani Kulasinghe counts over 19 years of experience in Audit and Finance sectors and commenced her career at SLIC in year 2009. She currently holds the position of Assistant General Manager – Finance at Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Limited. She is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and was a prize winner for the module, "Introduction to Financial Reporting". Further, she is an Associate Member of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Sri Lanka. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) Special Degree from the University of Kelaniya and obtained her Master's Degree in Business Administration in Finance, from the University of Colombo. She also has served as a visiting lecturer for the Diploma in Insurance program conducted by the University of Wayamba.

 

Fund Management Team

The Senior Members of the Fund Management Division consists of well-qualified experienced personnel involved in providing a proficient and ethical investment management service, backed by up-to-date investment research.

The Fund Management Team has undergone in-depth on-the-job training in the field of investment management and trading operations with UTI. The Investment Division has been set-up and the senior managers have been trained in the necessary techniques and skills required for its operation under the supervision of a Fund Manager deputed from UTI under a Technical Assistance Agreement.

Further, visiting expatriates from Unit Trust of India have trained the staff in specialized areas from time to time.

Mr. Ian Ferdinands is the Chief Executive Officer of Ceybank Asset Management Limited and heads of the management team involving formulation and implementation of investment strategies for the assets under management.

Mr. Ian Ferdinands - CEO/Executive Director

Mr. Ferdinands was promoted to the post of Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director with effect from 1st April 2021 by the Board of Directors and Mr. Ferdinands is responsible for the entire operations of the company. Prior to assuming duties as CEO/Executive Director he functioned as the head of investment division and involved in managing the Fixed Income Funds of the company and structuring new unit trust Funds and Investment Plans.

Mr. Ferdinands joined the company in July 2008. Prior to joining Ceybank Asset Management Limited, he worked at National Asset Management Limited (NAMAL), managing fixed income Funds, the Primary dealer operations and Marketing functions, where he was instrumental in introducing new Funds, among them the first Money Market Fund and Shariah based unit trust Fund in Sri Lanka. He has also worked as a Foreign Exchange broker at Forbes Money Brokers prior to working at NAMAL.

He is a Chartered Marketer (UK) and Certified e Marketing Associate (USA). He is presently reading for MBA (Finance) at University of Southern Queensland, Australia.

Kanchana Karannagoda – Fund Manager

Ms. Karannagoda is responsible for the execution of trades in the implementation of investment policies and trading strategies for the unit trust Funds and client portfolios. She also carries out the in-house research function for the Company. Having joined the firm in 2005, she counts over 15 years of experience in Investment research and Fund Management. Prior to joining Ceybank Asset Management Limited she served in the Investment Division of Union Assurance Ltd as an Investment Executive from 2004 - 2005.

Ms. Karannagoda is an Associate Member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA-UK), and also a Chartered Global Management Accountant. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Finance) Special (Hons) degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.


Kavindya Asoka – Assistant Manager (Investments)

Ms. Kavindya currently works as an Executive Investment at Ceybank Asset Management Limited. She is responsible for assisting the Fund Manager in managing fund Cash flows and executing daily investments. She also carries out in – house research functions for the company.

Prior to joining Ceybank Asset Management Limited she was employed at LOLC Securities as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) in analysing and advising on prospective equity investments for clients and at Bank of Ceylon as an Intern Finance

Ms.Kavindya holds a Bachelor of Science in Management (Finance) special (Hons) degree with a Second Upper Class division from University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka and is part Qualified in Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)UK.

Other Key Management Team

The Senior Members of the Fund Management Division consists of well-qualified experienced personnel involved in providing a proficient and ethical investment management service, backed by up-to-date investment research.

Mr. Ravindra Hettiarachchi - General Manager

Mr. Hettiarachchi as the General manager of the company is responsible for ensuring smooth functioning of the company by coordinating the functions of respective departments through the department heads to achieve the company goals as per the company policy and programs on the vision and mission of the Company.

Prior to assuming duties as the General Manager, he was the head of the Accounts Division   and was responsible for all accounting functions of the Company; the Unit Trust funds and Client portfolios.

He counts for over 20 years of experience with the firm, having joined in 2000. Prior to joining Ceybank Asset Management Ltd, he has worked at Ernst & Young - Sri Lanka as a Senior Accountant.

Mr. Hettiarachchi holds a MBA from University of Kelaniya and Bachelor of Science in Management Special (Hons) Degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

He is also a Finalist of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL).

 

Mr. Kumudu Kekirideniya – Manager (Marketing)

Mr. Kekirideniya is the Head of the Marketing Division of Ceybank Asset Management Limited. Joined in 2008, he has over 20 Years of experience in sales and marketing both in FMCG and Financial Services in leading Sri Lankan companies.

Mr. Kekirideniya is responsible for investment promotion, awareness building, advertising, management and development of sales channel and marketing of the Unit Trust Funds.

He holds a Professional Diploma in Marketing from Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK) and an Associate Member of Institute of Commercial Management (UK).

Ms. Pamudi Kariyawasam - Registrar

Ms. Pamudi Kariyawasam counts over 27 years of experience in Ceybank Asset Management Ltd in different capacities. Her experience in Finance Department is more than 23 years and appointed for the position as the Registrar in 2019.

Compliance and Risk Management

The Investment Committee which comprises the Members of the Fund department headed by the Chief Executive Officer meets on a regular basis to oversee and provide direction on the overall asset allocation for the Unit Trust Funds and other Assets Under Management. The General Manager who oversees the compliance function of the company also sits in the Investment Committee in order to provide guidance on Compliance matters on Funds under management.

The Compliance Officer ensures that the Unit Trust Funds comply with the statutory requirements demarcated under the Trust Deed, Explanatory Memorandum, Unit Trust Code and any other rulings directed by the Securities and Exchange Commission with regard to Unit Trusts. In addition he has to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission that the funds meet the said mentioned directions on a regular basis.

Furthermore, the Compliance Officer monitors the portfolio transitions to prevent inter-portfolio transactions taking place and to ensure fiduciary duties and responsibilities of the manager are fulfilled.

Marketing and Distribution Network

Ceybank Asset Management Limited uses the extensive branch network of its parent Bank of Ceylon as the principle marketing channel to promote Ceybank Unit Trust Funds. At present the company has regional offices in key metropolitan areas in Sri Lanka in addition to Bank of Ceylon branch network.

With an increased representation of the Bank of Ceylon in the Ceybank Asset Management Limited, the company continues to utilize the Bank of Ceylon branch network more extensively in promoting Ceybank Unit Trust Funds. Additionally, this would help the company to explore more synergies in operations with the Bank of Ceylon in the future which is expected to enhance the Bank of Ceylon’s initiative to take the Sri Lankan capital markets to the masses.