Longer Horizon

August 01, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s newest mutual fund operator, Orient Wealth Limited plans to raise about a billion rupees by attracting customers to invest in pension, children’s education and general investment products, officials said. Sri Lanka’s stock market is down by almost 19 percent since January, largely due to lack of credit while interest rates also remain high.

But Jeyavarman thinks equity investments, though risky, can also give a bit of edge on investment plans.

We believe in buying when share prices go down, like in the current context and sell when it goes up. There are always stocks that give long-term value.

Orient Wealth is the 13th to join the local unit trust industry which manages around 21 billion rupees worth of funds.

Orient Wealth is a fully-owned subsidiary of Orient Capital Limited, which comes under the Janashakthi group of companies. The Janashakthi group has investments ranging from insurance to money broking. Orient Wealth, will operate three funds: Orient gilt-edge; Orient Corporate debt and Orient equity fund tapping into people’s appetite for diverse investment schemes.

The funds will come into operation from August 6, with Deutsche Bank AG Colombo acting as trustee and c