National Equity Fund celebrates 15 years

The National Equity Fund recently declared its 16th annual dividend, an exercise done every March and continuously from its inception in 1992, 15 years ago. This year too, the Managers, National Asset Management Ltd (NAMAL) announced a dividend of Rs 2.00 per unit - a 20% dividend for investors who entered the fund at Rs 10. “What is significant, is that we have distributed Rs. 2.00 per unit or a 20% dividend consistently for the last four years,” noted Praboodha Samarasekera, Fund Manager at NAMAL, in a press release issued by the company.

“Being a balanced fund that invests in both the equity and debt markets, the Fund has the added advantage of being able to change its asset allocation to best suit the movements of the respective market, thereby adding value to the investor irrespective of which market performs. This gives the investor a win win situation -- a fact that is substantiated by the fund’s dividend record. The Fund boasts of 12,658 investors as at end February 2007,” the release said.

The National Equity Fund (NEF) was the first unit trust fund established in Sri Lanka, by National Asset Management Ltd (NAMAL) the company that pioneered Unit Trusts in Sri Lanka. NAMAL has five unit trust funds under its management, which cater to diverse investor risk/return profiles. “Our objective is to provide investors with a choice of the investment opportunities available in the market,” said NAMAL CEO S. Jeyavarman.