A journey of 20 years in uplifting capital markets is certainly one worth celebrating, for key stakeholders as well as the lay observer alike. What makes this accomplishment even more remarkable is the evolution witnessed over the years, in the process of bringing to the fore the crème de la crème from the nation’s financial arena.
Founded in 2001, CFA Society Sri Lanka is part of the worldwide network of CFA Institute member societies that lead the finance and investment profession globally by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society. CFA Society Sri Lanka represents the interests of over 240 finance and investment professionals in the country through advocacy, education, events and professional development. They hold positions as CEOs, CFOs, portfolio managers, equity analysts, banking professionals, investment advisors and other senior-ranking financial practitioners.
President of CFA Society Sri Lanka, Dinesh Warusavitharana, CFA said ‘’CFA Society Sri Lanka has made tremendous progress from its humble beginnings to a leading professional body in the field of Finance, Investment Management and Capital Markets today. In the last two decades, the Society has grown its membership to over 240, candidates to over 600, number of annual activities and made an impact in promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society’’.
‘’We are greatly appreciative of each one of our past presidents, board members, committee chairs, co-chairs, other volunteers, society members, candidates, CFA Institute staff, local staff, sponsors and well-wishers who over the past 20-years gave their valuable time and effort to make this a successful and memorable era. As we step into the next decade of this journey, we are excited to implement strategies that will continuously evolve and transform us to be future ready’’, he added.
Reflecting upon the past, the Society’s founder President, Ravi Abeysuriya, CFA said ‘’There is much to celebrate when I look back 20 years on how not only it had made a huge difference to my career progression but also how the Society was able to make a difference to the community in Sri Lanka by undertaking so many pioneering projects. It is amazing to see how relevant the CFA qualification remains to the future of our industry with people talking about the need for higher ethical standards, better training and professionalism in the industry’’.
The Society has been a champion of gender diversity within the investment management profession in Sri Lanka. As such, Rachini Rajapaksa, the first female fund manager in the country was a CFA charterholder who also went on to lead the Society as the first female President in 2016. Looking back on the value addition of the qualification on her career, she said ‘’CFA qualification gave me the tools and the confidence to be one of the first few fund managers in Sri Lanka, when investment management and unit trusts were new to the country. Application of the CFA Program knowledge in practice enabled me to continuously uplift the standards of my own work while raising the bar within the industry’’.
CFA Society Sri Lanka has continuously worked closely with regulators in jointly promoting capital market best practices as well as advocacy efforts. While congratulating the Society on its anniversary, Mr Viraj Dayaratne PC, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka commented, ‘’The maintenance of high ethical standards is critical to building public trust in the investment industry. From its inception, the CFA Society Sri Lanka has played an important role in promoting ethical and professional standards of this industry as well as educating and creating awareness amongst the investing public. The SEC has worked together with the CFA Society in many of its initiatives and look forward to continuing with that partnership in the future as well’’.
Rajeeva Bandaranaike, Chief Executive Officer ,Colombo Stock Exchange also added ‘’CFA Society Sri Lanka has been at the center of delivering skilled investment professionals that have made the expansion of our capital market possible. The strong focus of the Society to drive industry best practices in areas such as professional learning, ethics in investment, market research & analysis, ESG and more, paves the way for the investment management profession to be used impactfully for the benefit of multiple stakeholders’’.
CFA Society Sri Lanka organized a series of events themed ‘Anniversary Week’ between 22nd-26th November 2021. The week began with ‘’Bell ringing’’ to open trading at the Colombo Stock Exchange marking this significant milestone and launching of a commemorative cover and stamp the same day in the presence of Mr Ranjith Ariyaratne, Postmaster General of Sri Lanka. A Stock Picking Competition was also launched to create awareness and interest in investing and capital markets among university students in the country. These were followed by webinars on Asian Stock Markets From the Ground Up by Herald van der Linde, CFA, HSBC’s Head of Equity Strategy, Asia Pacific and moderated by Deshan Pushparajah, CFA, Managing Director – Global Markets & Investment Banking at Capital Alliance and Webinar on Fundamentals driven investing by Chathura Weerasooriya, Assistant Director – Investment Research and Gamika Seneviratne, CFA, Assistant Director – Investment Research, Acuity Knowledge Partners. The week ended with an interactive Virtual Quiz for members and candidates who are members of the Candidate Council.
In line with the anniversary week, the Society leadership met with Mr Viraj Dayaratne PC, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and other officials and Mr Rajeeva Bandaranayake CEO of the Colombo Stock Exchange to discuss joint initiatives to be carried out in future. A number of MoUs were signed with IT/ BPM and trade chambers namely SLASSCOM, FITIS, NCC and LBR to collaborate for mutual benefit.
While being in place for two decades and counting, some of the Society’s key initiatives have evolved over the years and even shaped the view of the CFA Program in the country, along with uplifting financial literacy, understanding of the capital markets and professional industry standards in Sri Lanka.