CFA Awards 2014 recognises best capital market professionals
View(s):The Annual Capital Market Awards Night and Forecast Dinner held by CFA Sri Lanka in Colombo recently opened a new chapter in the annals of the Sri Lanka’s capital markets.
Seen here is Dialog Axiata Group COO Azwan Khan accepting the Gold for Best Investor Relations
Awards were made in three categories; Best Equity Research Report, Best Investor Relations and the Best Stockbroker Research Team recognising the efforts of those who have established industry benchmarks in these disciplines and made contributions to the advancement of the domestic financial markets, according to a media statement from CFA Sri Lanka.
Gold awards were won by Capital Alliance Ltd’s Reshan Wediwardana for the Best Equity Research Report for his analysis on Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC; Dialog Axiata PLC for Best Investor Relations and C T Smith Stockbrokers (Pvt) Ltd as Best Stockbroker Research Team. Lourdeena Kudaliyanage from John Keells Stockbrokers (Pvt) Limited won silver for the Best Equity Research Report on HNB Assurance PLC, while the collective efforts on the research produced for John Keells Holdings PLC by Chethana Ellapola, Anjula Nawarathna, Anouk Weerasinghe and Nilruk Soysa of Acuity Stockbrokers Pvt Ltd, gained the bronze.
Textured Jersey Lanka PLC and National Development Bank PLC won silver and bronze, respectively for Best Investor Relations.
In his welcome address, President of CFA Sri Lanka Sheyantha Abeykoon reiterated that this awards night is integral to CFA Sri Lanka’s endeavours to promote global best practices in the country’s financial market. “Our aim is to promote and encourage practices that would lead to a more robust and efficiently functioning capital market.”
There were 16 companies shortlisted for the Best Investor Relations category, based on the strengths of their investor relations practices and responsiveness. The short listed companies were ranked by a user group of analysts from stockbroking firms, rating agencies, fund managers and institutional investors. Communicating interactively with the investor community formed the foundation for these awards where increasing awareness on the crucial role played by investor relations for markets to function efficiently and encouraging best practices were the overarching fundamentals. Evaluation criteria stemmed on accessibility of management, quality of disclosure and transparency, fairness in disclosure and consistency of the investor relations function in all conditions, the statement said.
The Stockbroking Research Team Award was inaugurated this year from a survey conducted among user groups including Registered Investment Managers, Licensed Unit Trusts and Large Corporate Investors. This was based on the criteria of depth and breadth of coverage, forecast and stock picking accuracy, industry knowledge, timeliness of ideas, responsiveness to investor requests, timeliness and dissemination of news and reports and providing corporate access.