Portfolio management services from Bank of Ceylon

Bank of Ceylon (BOC) manages several funds at present and has decided to extend Portfolio Management Service (PMS) to all clients including Individuals, Corporates and Trust Funds through its Investment Banking Division. Under this, BOC will manage the client funds and invest them in various products. BOC as “Bankers to the Nation” has the stability, strength and trust and will offer the highest level of safety and investment returns to the Client. Following segment is captured from an interview had with the Deputy General Manager (International, Treasury and Investment) Sarath Jayasuriya. Q: Why an investor needs a dedicated Portfolio Manager? A: It is basically for four reasons. Firstly, busy customer may not have enough spare time to find the best alternative for their investments. Secondly, as a premier financial institution BOC has more access to frequently changing financial market information which is not widely available to ordinary clients. Thirdly, investor can have hassle free environment due to non-involvement in documentation. Fourthly through proper diversification of client’s assets, investors can earn something more than investing in traditional deposits. Q: Is there any difference between your new service and investing in Unit Trusts? A: Yes. Unit trusts pool all the funds of investors and give the same return to all. But with BOC PMS, investor can enjoy higher returns through tailor made investment mix depend on their risk appetites. Other difference is investors are aware of where their funds were invested unlike in Unit Trust. Q: Is there a minimum tenor for the agreement? A: The minimum tenor for the agreement should be two years. Otherwise BOC is not in a position to generate progressive return. Higher the investment and longer the tenor gives investor more opportunities to enjoy higher returns according to their risk appetite. Q: How strong is your investment management team? A: Our portfolio management team consists with well qualified and experienced fund managers. They have international exposure in our overseas branches such as London and Chennai. Also they continuously deal with various types of investment instruments. Also we have experienced research analysts who examine the market information. Q: When do an investor get their returns? A: Investment returns/ income could be received at the end of agreement or as agreed terms at the initial discussion. Q: What are the investment instruments you are going to offer to the third party clients? A: There are list of instruments including Government Securities, Treasury Bills & Bonds, Fixed Deposits, Repo Investments, Debentures, Commercial Papers, Unit Trusts, Shares and Asset Backed Trust Certificates. Q: Is there any particular reason to select BOC as their Portfolio Manager? A: Yes. BOC has the highest public trust with over One Trillion deposit base. It is the largest & strongest commercial bank in the nation with 100% state ownership. In addition, BOC is a leading player in treasury operations. We have experience in managing our own funds for a long time. We do various research prior to investments. Furthermore, many people have difficulties in investing their funds and have requested us to manage those. Currently, we are the only state owned commercial bank to fulfill their requirement. Feel free to contact following officers to begin rewarding relationship with BOC Portfolio Management Service. (Media Release)