​Capital Alliance’s all-women Investment Management team, headed by Ashveeni Shanthikumar, CEO, CAL Investments, has rapidly evolved into the largest fund management unit in the country. As part of its International Women’s Day 2015 celebrations, CAL is shining a light on this dynamic and successful all-women team that has contributed significantly to the company’s overall success. Each year, International Women’s Day celebrates women and their achievements, the theme for 2015 is ‘Make it Happen’ and that is exactly what Ashveeni has done at CAL over the last few years.  


Ashveeni’s team currently manages an excess of Rs. 40 billion in assets and is revolutionizing the country’s financial services and investment landscape. Managing 11 different unit trusts, her team has enabled CAL to become the largest unit trust management company in the industry. Today three of the company’s most popular funds are the High Yield Fund, the Corporate Treasury Fund and the Quantitative Equity Fund. 

Ashveeni Shanthikumar joined CAL in 2011 and in just a few years, she has made the company’s Investment Management team a market leader and pioneering force in the industry. Currently leading an all-women team of financial professionals, she brings with her a wealth of expertise and commitment that has yielded exceptional results for CAL and its clients. Ashveeni spearheaded the launch of the country’s first-ever Quantitative Equity Fund and continues to provide CAL’s clients with tailor-made solutions that meet their diverse needs. 

More about the management team: Ashveeni holds a BSc. in Mathematics from Imperial College London and initially entered the industry through Amba Research – an international KPO firm where she worked as a Quantitative Equity Analyst. Returning to the United Kingdom, she joined JP Morgan Chase as a Quantitative Risk Manager,  subsequently she worked at London based hedge fund De Putron.  Ashveeni returned to Sri Lanka to join CAL in 2011. Her team also comprises Thilini Karunaratne, Manager, Asset Management, CAL who manages the Fixed Income Unit Trust portfolios at CAL Investments. Thilini is a member of the Investment Committee and also heads the company’s research initiative and the operations for CAL. She also started her career at Amba Research as a Financial Analyst where she was in charge of conducting research on global equities for one of the largest mutual funds in the world. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK and holds an LLB from the University of Colombo and is also an Attorney-at-Law. 

A great sales and research team: Ananya Udeshi is a key member of the company’s sales team at CAL Investments and handles the responsibility of managing client relationships. She holds a BSc. in Economics & Statistics from University College London (UK) and is also a level 2 CFA candidate.  Ananya is also a member of the Investment Committee and is primarily responsible for the credit assessment of financial sector issuers. She also functions as CAL Investments’ lead economic analyst. 

An uphill battle at the start: Having returned to Sri Lanka after eight years abroad, Ashveeni Shanthikumar faced many challenges when she started building CAL’s Investment Management team in 2011. In a short period of time she has developed long-lasting relationships with clients, and has consistently grown CAL’s investment portfolio.  When she joined the company, the company’s assets under management were valued at Rs. 100 million and in approximately three years, she has grown the value of investments substantially, positioning CAL’s Investment Management team as the best in the country. 

A creative approach to meeting clients’ needs: Ashveeni Shanthikumar attributes CAL’s success to the company’s strong commitment to developing tailor-made solutions for its clients. As an integral part of its strategy, CAL has always focused on designing products that creatively and effectively meet the unique needs and requirements of each client. Ensuring a personalized service that is well-supported by strong client relationships, CAL has built a reputation of trust and reliability. All products developed by the company are synonymous with guaranteed quality. CAL’s innovative approach to developing products has enabled the company to provide its clients with a refreshing and effective array of solutions. 

Leveraging CAL’s research capabilities and position as a full service investment bank: As a fully-fledged investment bank, CAL offers a diverse range of financial and investment products and services. Ashveeni Shanthikumar and her team are able to leverage on CAL’s strength as a market leader in listed debt and equities to get the first look at and get preferential access to the most attractive deals in the market. CAL’s dynamic research unit also significantly helps the team to assess market trends and identify opportunities that the team can capitalize on to yield higher returns for its clients. 

Commenting on how she took CAL’s Investment Management team to new heights, Ashveeni Shanthikumar stated, “When I returned to Sri Lanka, I didn’t have a strong network and didn’t have that many contacts. Many people and women in the workplace often feel that if you’re relatively new to a country, it’s significantly harder to find success, but that’s not always the case. Although it was definitely a challenge, I was able to acquire contacts over time and set up a strong investment management operation. Our team has continued to grow and excel in the last few years, becoming the largest mutual fund management team in the country. We have outperformed all of our competitors and our client focused approach and willingness to constantly innovate has helped us achieve success and growth. We hope to continue this momentum of growth and increase our market share further by strengthening our presence in both the institutional, high-net-worth and retail investor spaces.” 

Capital Alliance (CAL) is continuously striving to become the preferred partner in financial markets. Having commenced operations in October 2000, CAL has established itself as a leading player in the financial markets of Sri Lanka. The company specializes in the origination, trading and investment of debt and equity securities and this mix of expertise and services allows CAL to offer integrated and customized solutions to its customers across the entire financial spectrum. The company strives to build lasting relationships with all of its clients, in order to acquire an in-depth understanding of their needs and goals. In a short period of time, CAL has built a reputation for itself as a market leader, by consistently delivering excellence in execution, world-class research and product innovation.