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Dear CFA Sri Lanka Member It is my pleasure to be able to reach you once again through the quarterly news update. The year (2011) began with a bang. The Induction Party for the new Charter holders and passed finalists was held on January 13 at the Park Street Mews. Nearly fifty members were present at the party to welcome the Charter recipients and passed finalists, who were felicitated at a social gathering that was filled with lots of activities, fun and good food & beverage. All attendees were required to wear party hats and participate in fun games in order to break the ice and encourage more and more interaction. I must say that the plan worked to perfection with the exception of Murtaza and Sanjay, who refused to wear party hats or participate in any games. Just like the good old investment principles, some things never change. Thanks to Christine and Debbie, the event turned out to be a resounding success. It is my pleasure to announce that Rajiv Cassie Chitty became the first Sri Lankan to obtain the Certificate of Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM). The CFA Institute issues the CIPM, which is the premier mark of distinction for professionals seeking to increase their mastery of performance measurement principles. On February 8, we had our first outreach and awareness event for 2011, at the Colombo Hilton. The speaker was Mr Ranjit Page who enlightened the audience with the „Cargills Story‟ in his speech about Entrepreneurship. There were nearly 80 participants at this event, and I would like to thank Sheyantha for making it happen. We are encouraged by the positive feedback given by the participants on the event.

In late February Sheyantha and I attended the Asia Pacific Regional Meeting, which was held in Bali, Indonesia. The highlight of this year‟s conference was the Investment Research Challenge Regional Competition, which is usually held as a separate event. As you know, the team from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, which emerged winners in the local competition, took part in the regional competition in Bali. The team from University of Sri Jayawardenapura made Sri Lanka proud by successfully reaching the final round of the competition along with 5 other universities from the region. The CFA community in Sri Lanka should be grateful to Sanjay, Murtaza and Sabrina for the years of hard work and commitment they have put in to organize the local competition each year, and helping transform our raw talent into promising young professionals of the future. In early March, Murtaza conducted a CFA awareness session at the University of Kelaniya as part of our outreach and awareness initiatives, whilst Rajiv attended the Annual GIPS Meeting, which was held at Zurich, Switzerland, in late March.

Quarter 1 - 2011

President’s Message Jan – Mar 2011

Contents President’s Message……………… 01 CIPM…………………………………….. 02 Social………………………………….… 03 Strategic Plan…………..…………... 04 Outreach & Awareness…………. 05 GIRC…………………………….………. 05 University Outreach…….………… 07 Annual GIPS Meeting………….… 07 Other Activities….………………… 08 Contact Details…………………….. 08 Annexure…………………………….. 09

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At the beginning of our term, we declared our intentions of increasing member interaction and communication. Whilst social events help us immensely towards achieving this objective, we also created a CFA Sri Lanka group on facebook. There are currently 43 members in this group, and I would like to see more CFA Sri Lanka members joining this group, and start sharing information, thoughts and suggestions. In order to cater more to the member requirements, a social events survey was conducted in April. Thanks to Amal, we have managed to finalize our three year strategic plan, which was uploaded on the society website, posted on facebook and emailed to all members. We welcome your feedback and suggestions, with a view to further improving the plan. We have uploaded 14 job adverts on Jobline this quarter. Please continue to use this facility to advertise vacancies at your places of work. Over the coming months we will be organizing more social events as well as more outreach & awareness activities, where I look forward to meeting many of you.

Malinga Arsakularatne

Congratulations!

By Murtaza Jafferjee Rajiv Casie Chitty is the first and thus far the only member from our society to have completed both stages of the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) program conducted by the CFA Institute. The CIPM credential is the investment industry‟s only designation dedicated solely to the specialized field of investment performance analysis and presentation. It is the premier mark of distinction for professionals seeking to increase their mastery of performance measurement principles. The program applies best practices in investment analysis techniques through an online, self-directed curriculum and tests proficiency in professional ethics, performance evaluation, and investment reporting. The CIPM program comprises of two levels; the Principle level emphasizes the conceptual foundations of performance measurement, attribution and appraisal as well as the provisions of the GIPS standards, the Expert level emphasizes performance evaluation and presentation, including application of the appropriate tools and inputs in more complex situations and the GIPS guidance statement. He is our society's GIPS chair and representative at the GIPS council. He has also been at the forefront in promoting the adoption of the GIPS standard in the country. We hope that his achievement acts as a beacon for others to follow in his path in attempting the CIPM program.

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Social

Induction Party 2011 A Temperature of 19° Celsius, fresh cool breeze, coins being passed surreptitiously from hand to hand, Sangria flowing, folks in party hats, tapping their toes to DJ music, mingling, laughing & having fun – was this really Colombo, were these really CFA‟s? Yes and yes!! It was the Induction cum street party held at “On the Street” at Park Street Mews on the one and only cool, cool Thursday evening in Colombo. All credit goes to Christine, our exuberant and vivacious Social chair, who really knows how to plan a fun party. There were two reasons for having this party, firstly, to induct the new Charterholders and Level lll passed finalists so that they can get to know the rest of the members and secondly, to have an event where the CFAs could relax, have fun and network.

Malinga, in his yellow party hat, welcomed all the guests and his only command that evening was “have fun everybody”. Murtaza decided to referee the games – whistle at hand, which he blew constantly whilst standing on a chair. The games began but never quite ended – but Christine‟s goal of getting everyone to mingle, talk to each other and have fun were certainly met, perhaps that is the reason the games never came to a conclusion. On a slightly serious note, the inductees, 09 in total that evening, introduced themselves and mentioned the areas in which they could help out the society.

Dinner, served buffet style was simple but delicious, a mix of Italian & Sri Lankan – the inevitable pasta and koththu which went down very well with the chilled but potent Sangria. It was also the eve of Malinga‟s birthday and to celebrate the occasion, there was a cake – alas, due to the windy conditions, Malinga could not blow out the candles, but he did cut the cake and fed himself a piece (after which, everyone else had a piece)

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With so many members in Colombo attending, the event was a resounding success. Plans are underway to have more events, mixing business with pleasure of course. On a final note, thank you to all you members who attended the party – no amount of planning could have made it a success without your presence. For more photographs, check out our website.

Strategic Plan

Amal Sandaratne, the Strategic Plan Chair, finalized the Strategic Plan for the next 3 years. In the process of doing so, a member survey was conducted in July 2010. Ms. Joanna Kwock, Director, Social Relations, CFA Institute, AP Office also visited Colombo in July and helped us start working on a strategic plan that would see us through for the next 3 years. We are now in the process of putting this plan into action. The Strategic Plan is now uploaded on the website and for those of you who have still not had the chance to take a look at it, here is the link: http://www.membersocieties.org/srilanka/Linked%20Files/Strategic%20Plan%202011.pdf

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Out Reach & Awareness

Entrepreneurship – The Cargills Story by Ranjit Page By Christine Dias Bandaranaike

The CFA Sri Lanka Continuing Education event calendar for 2011 started with a bang with over 80 participants, including members, level III candidates and guests attending the February 10th opening session entitled “Entrepreneurship”. Our speaker for the evening was Ranjit Page, Managing Director, CT Holdings & Deputy Chairman/CEO Cargills (Ceylon), who addressed the gathering with an insightful walk through his and Cargills‟ past. Ranjit provided perspect ives into his successful entrepreneurship by describing the situations, values and goals that led him and Cargills from success to success over the past decade. In fact the CE event took place during the week of Cargills‟ latest acquisition - McCallum Breweries and Three Coins at a cost of Rs. 1.4 billion. Ranjit also discussed past mistakes made, tough times and lessons learned, in a manner that was frank and motivating. A lively question and answer period elicited many questions from the CFA Sri Lanka membership.

Global Investment Research Challenge

Regional Finals – Bali, Indonesia

Representing Sri Lanka, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura advanced to the Asia-Pacific regional final of the 2011 Global Investment Research Challenge (Global IRC), hosted by CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals. The university was one of six that made it into the final out of 16 teams that competed from across Asia-Pacific region. University of Jayewardenepura was the winner of the CFA Sri Lanka Challenge 2010 held last year and proceeded to take part in the Asia Pacific competition. While this was the fourth year running that CFA Sri Lanka Challenge was held, it is the first time that the Sri Lankan team made the finals in the Asia Pacific competition. The CFA Sri Lanka Challenge 2010 was conducted by CFA Sri Lanka with the Colombo Stock Exchange as the main sponsor and supported by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka. From around the world, more than 500 universities have participated this year in local competitions as part of the Global IRC. They include more than 600 students from 142 universities from Asia-Pacific. In the regional final held in Bali, Indonesia on 25 February 2011, 16 student teams, which were the winners of local competitions in Japan, South Korea, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, and New Zealand, took part. The six teams were selected to the Asia Pacific final were: National University of Science and Technology – Pakistan, University of the Philippines, Diliman – the Philippines, Thammasat

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University – Thailand, Indian Institute of Management, Shillong – India, University of Sri Jayawardenepura – Sri Lanka, and Massey University – New Zealand. The Asia-Pacific champion this year was Thammasat University from Thailand, which will proceed to compete in the grand finale of Global IRC to be held in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. Students of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura team were: Charmini Romesha Ponnamperuma; Punsalani Ishari Dias; Rasanga Abhishek Weliwatte; K.A. De A. Wijesinghe and Vidanage Olar Vijith Karunaratne. Their faculty advisor was Y.K. Weerakoon Banda and their Industry mentor was Nishantha Jayaweera, CFA. Murtaza Jafferjee, CFA was the overall mentor. Sanjay Kulatunga, CFA is the SLIRC Chair in charge of this entire programme – he was most ably assisted by Ms. Sabrina Jayah. Out grateful thanks to all to these people who made this programme possible.

Annexure: The comments from the team members of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura

Regional Meeting – Bali, Indonesia

President, Malinge Arsakularatne and Vice President, Sheyantha Abeykoone represented CFA Sri Lanka at the annual Regional Meeting held in Bali, Indonesia, held from 25 – 27 February 2011. There were sessions on the New Funding Model and Forms of Association, Member Recruitment and retention, Volunteer Development & Recognition, Society Governance, Waiver Programmes and Social Media to name just a few. This was an excellent opportunity to network with members from across the region and also to share best practices amongst the societies.

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University Outreach

Kelaniya University CFA Sri Lanka‟s Level ll Funding project is to cover the 4 major universities in Colombo to increase awareness about the CFA Programme. Murtaza Jafferjee conducted the first of these at the University of Kelaniya to a gathering of Commerce students. His presentations were on “Careers in Finance” and “The CFA Programme”. Plans are underway to conduct similar presentations to the Universities of Colombo, Sri Jayawardenapura and Moratuwa before June 2011.

Annual GIPS Meeting – Zurich By Rajiv Casie Chitty

The GIPS council executive committee meetings were held in Zurich, Switzerland, on the 23rd and 24th of March 2011. The event was hosted by the Portugal country sponsor Swiss Bankers Association. The meetings included the open Meetings, GIPS council Meetings and the Regional Investment Performance Sub Committee ( RIPS ) Meetings – Americas RIPS, Europe, Middle East and Africa ( EMEA ) RIPS and Asia Pacific (AP) RIPS. The GIPS Executive Committee – closed door meetings were held earlier in the week. The highest participation was in the EMEA RIPS, with around 20 country sponsors being present. The APRIPS meetings were represented by 8 country sponsors, namely Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The GIP executive committee meeting was chaired by Mr. Louis Boulanger and the AP RIPS meetings were chaired by Mr. Trevor Pressard. CFA Sri Lanka, the country sponsor for Sri

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Lanka was represented by Mr. Rajiv Casie Chitty. There were no new country sponsors at the 2011 sessions. However there were several observers, notably from China, who are potential country sponsors. Mr. John Rogers, CEO CFA Institute was also present. He encouraged the participants to separate the wood from the forests and look at catering to the retail fund management industry in the longer term - presently GIPS emphasis is largely on institutional investors with focus on reporting to prospective investors. .

Other Activities

The CFASL committee members have met several times to discuss, plan and implement the Strategic Plan, the Induction Party, the seminar on “Entrepreneurship”, the Level ll Funding project and the creation of an FB page. Most notably, due to the concentrated efforts of Murtaza Jafferjee, we‟ve acquired 2 Silver Sponsors, namely, JB Securities and Amba Research Lanka Ltd., who have committed to sponsoring CFASL‟s events for a period of 3 years. A few more sponsorships are pending the approval from the respected companies. Jobline is getting more popular with 14 jobs uploaded for the 1st quarter. The FB page created by Malinga Arsakularatne has had some interesting articles / videos posted. A invitation to all members – if you have any articles / thoughts / ideas that you want to share with the rest of the members, please forward it to us so that we can publish it here and on FB. The committee is now busy with plans for Q2 of 2011. The members will be kept updated via the website, email and FB. For the latest jobs advertised – read JOBLINE! http://www.membersocieties.org/srilanka/Pages/Vacancies.aspx

Contact Us Tel: 0773 661931 Email: secretariat@srilanka.cfasociety.org Website: http://www.membersocieties.org/srilanka/default.aspx

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Annexure What the members of the Team from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura had to say about their SLIRC experience: Punsalani Dias (Team Leader) It is my pleasure to share my genuine thoughts of the past eight months I spent on the CFA Financial Analyst competition. As the team leader, I had a greater responsibility to guide my team towards victory. The University had a lot of faith in us, so we as a team, thought to ourselves that we were going to win the local competition with all our efforts when we started off. We had We had to face quite a lot of challenges when we were doing the local challenge. None of us had much practical experience when we started it, whereas we had to compete with people who had gained experience in the field, in other teams. We had no idea on how to write a research report nor how to do a professional presentation, even though we had done various types of presentations at uni. We realized that we had to approach this competition in a completely new way. Despite all the disadvantages we faced, we had only one strong weapon in our hand; that was nothing but the „team spirit!‟ All five of us had only one aim on our minds. We badly wanted to win this challenge for our university. That was the only target we had on our mind. With these inspiring thoughts at the back of our minds, we started working together as one unit. Team work was one of the key strengths we had. The knowledge I gained throughout is remarkable. I felt some sense in what I‟ve been studying so far at the university & for other exams. The way we collated things we learned under different subjects into one ultimate outcome was amazing. I enhanced my knowledge in Valuations, Corporate Finance, Business Strategy, Economics, Accounting, Statistics etc. Not only that, I improved a lot in IT skills, communication skills, leadership skills & most importantly, presentation skills. As an individual, this competition meant a lot to me. Apart from broadening my knowledge in various subject areas, being the team leader, I enhanced my soft skills to a greater degree. I learned to coordinate with people, how to communicate with people, how to interview people, how to plan things, how to work with a team and bring the different skills of each individual of the team into light etc. Sometimes I had to attend to personal issues of the team members, I had to ensure the momentum was rolling out continuously. I learned how to be patient with people. All these added greater value to me. This competition made me more disciplined! The Regional Competition again, was a challenging task for us. We wanted to keep a step forward, which we did at the end of the day. I personally believe that we significantly improved during this period. I learned how to manage multiple tasks (time management) and how to prioritize things accordingly. It was a real challenge to manage the final year exams, my job and the competition effectively. All three were equally important to me and I found it very difficult to prioritize. With all the good results I had obtained, I didn‟t want to ruin my class as well. On the other hand, did not want to disgrace our country by doing a bad job at the regional level. Therefore, until I finished the university exams, I had to learn to prioritize among these three aspects on a daily basis, based on a changing cycle. That way, I could give an equal emphasis to each until I finished the papers. The training we got from Mr. Jafferjee was amazing. I wish we could have learned more from him. Even though the time he had to spare with us was limited, he made a significant change in us. He made us into what we are today!! Finally, I am so glad that we were able to successfully complete the competition while facing the exams and balancing my personal life as well. This competition was indeed a life changing experience for me and it taught me so many things that I would never learn in books. I am sure my colleagues feel the same. It was very practical & I am confident that it will definitely add color to our careers. I strongly believe that the next Sri Lankan team can win the Asia Pacific competition, if they are trained more on things like public speaking (so that it will enable them to talk confidently in front of a large gathering) while improving on the fundamentals. Small things do matters at the end of the day. I personally feel that we did have the strength to do better. However, as the team leader, I am proud of my team and I am satisfied with our performance at the Regional Competition. I am so glad that we could reach a step forward and bridgee the gap between the Sri Lankan teams and the other teams, something Mr. Jafferjee strongly wanted us to do. I strongly believe if there is team spirit, nothing is impossible!! Aruni Wijeysinghe The CFA Challenge was an excellent experience for me, as it gave me an opportunity to grasp wide knowledge on research. It was a good exposure as it was directly related to my job. The activities of the training program were key elements of my job role. Fulfillment of activities due to the schedule was the most difficult part I had to overcome as the university exams fell during the same period. I was serving my probation period at work and it was really difficult for me to take leave. However the teams‟ determination took me through all obstacles faced. We had to work till midnight after work and on weekends as well. I had to sacrifice my leisure and time spent with family. But I learned so much, things which I had not learned throughout the period at university. The training in power point has enhanced my skills in the preparation of effective presentations which again, was

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useful in my work. The training in Excel has enhanced my skills which were key aspects in my job profile. The most important feature that can be highlighted was that I improved my presentation skills as well as my confidence in public speaking. The writing skills also improved which was very useful in report writing. Throughout the learning process, I grasped many things from my team members as we had to work together for eight months as a team. The team spirit brought us all the way through. The brain storming and useful discussions led us to the most reasonable conclusions which gave us the most satisfactory results. The greatest perseverance and determination of the team members became an aspiration to me. The time management and prioritization were other key elements that I have learned from this whole experience. Today when I look at the obstacles I overcame, I feel really proud of myself. I experienced a most valuable page in my life. Representing a country is not an easy task. Great determination, perseverance and courage are vital to reach the destination. The most important part is the “TEAM” which brings you through many barriers. The team members should possess various skills which will then develop into a synergy within the group. This will make things come to reality, things which had seemed impossible at times. The hard work and the motivation directed us to the final six. I personally believe that Sri Lankans has the strength to win the CFA challenge the next time. The presentation skills should improve and time management will be really crucial for them. They should be provided opportunities to improve thier public speaking as well. However I am glad to admit that the CFA Challenge added significant value to my career. Vijith Karunarathne What this competition meant to me? This Competition meant a lot to me and I feel it was the same for the rest of the team members. We dedicated most of our time and effort during the past 8 months to this quest and finally we are satisfied with our selves and what we have achieved at end of the day. What were the key learning outcomes? Learning came in different forms and means. On the academic side, I learned a lot and will pursue to learn more in the field of financial analysis. Other learnings are list below:

How to work with a team for a prolonged period of time

Improved presentation skills and power point skills

Overall the total competition itself was a classroom filled with many learning opportunities How it impacted me personally? It was a life changing experience which allowed me to achieve some of my personal goals in life. It was definitely a challenge and I am personally satisfied with the way I faced the challenge. Rasanga Weliwatte It was one of the most challenging tasks I have ever embarked on. At the local stage we had to face tough competition as most of the teams were equally good. However our team effort coupled with hard work enabled us to get through in the local competition. Then the real challenge was the Regional Competition where we had to compete with the best in Asia. I personally believe our strength was when we focused on the fundamentals of our analysis. We were focused on industry and company fundamentals and their impact on the valuation. In fact some judges commended us on that. And I again believe differentiation is also a critical success factor. We strived to differentiate our work from the typical investment reports. On this basis, we touched upon some areas such as Brand and its impact on company value. I believe that reading, and I mean reading a lot, will help the next team to have a profound impact at the next session. We read a lot of stuff like Warren Buffets‟ Letters to his shareholders, Harvard Business Review and Mc Kinsey Quarterly. Reading these helped us a lot in our efforts. One critical area we will need to work on is public speaking and presentation skills. If not for that, we really had a shot at the global competition. Because our content was on par, if not better, than that of the winning team‟s. The experience was truly exciting. We were able to meet and share our experiences with different teams from different countries. One thing to note, is all the teams have significantly increased their standard from last year‟s competition. Even the judges mentioned that. We are glad that we were able to give a good fight and highlight our country. But we could have done better. Charmini Ponnamperuma CFA Sri Lanka Research Challenge was a new opening for me and indeed it was a life changing experience. Although I have learned many finance theories and have done plenty of calculations in the course of my academic career, this was my very first experience where I used all that in a real world context. This contest helped me to learn lot of new stuff through trial and error. Doing things in

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practice is never as easy as doing it as a classroom assignment. Each adn every step forward posed a new question to which we were compelled to find answers. It was not a matter of doing a perfect job but coming up with a logical solutions and defending them with solid arguments. The end result was always a new learning. Starting from the point of building a logical assumption, studying the key drivers, identifying the linkages, data collection and impact assessment involved lot of effort and strategic thinking. One of the key things I learned was to look at an issue from various view points and perspectives and to identify all possibilities and impacts. This helped me in broadening my views and analytical skills in coming to a conclusion. This competition significantly improved my report writing & presentation skills. Professional writing was quite different from the normal writing pattern and this particular competition helped me in learning how to communicate things in a less conflicting and more convincing manner. Moreover, public speaking skills were another significant outcome of the competition. How to speak to an audience in a convincing manner, appropriate movements, voice controlling, stressing important points were some of the key things I learned during the oral presentations. Furthermore, the CFA challenge was influential in building up my confidence as an investment professional. The Q & A round followed by the presentation enticed me to get a thorough knowledge on all possible aspects with regard to the target company, which in turn significantly improved my level of confidence in facing the questions posed by the listeners. Time management & summarizing is also among the major learning outcomes. One of the key challenges for us was to effectively use the pile of information and our findings to come up with a convincing argument and to put the message across to the listener in a less confusing and less complex way. 10 minutes were all what we had and it wasn‟t easy to choose the best out of all and then summarize it; I learned a lot in terms of prioritizing and concision. It was a golden opportunity that I got to get to know the top management personnel from leading companies and to interact with them. The research phase enabled us to meet and talk to people, this helped us develop contacts with key personnel in the corporate world. Moreover, getting to know students from different countries, blend with their cultures and attitudes during the regional competition was a one off chance that we got. Not only that, the CFA challenge was a good platform for me to improve my soft skills in IT. I‟ve learned quite a lot in using advanced excel & power point functions, especially graphical presentations. Also, the economic studies, advance corporate finance & valuation techniques of Damodaran were extremely useful in enhancing my theoretical knowledge. All in all, the CFA Sri Lanka Research Challenge and the subsequent Asia Pacific Regional Challenge was a turning point in my life which added greater value to my professional career where it gave me the most important practical exposure plus an enormous knowledge in the field of finance which I believe is constructive for my future career prospects.