In a bid to democratize access to capital markets and empower retail investors, Capital Alliance (CAL) has launched its cutting-edge analytical and research platform. The event, attended by financial industry experts and investors, showcased the platform’s features designed to make trading and investing more accessible to everyday clients.
Chief Growth Officer Lahiru Ariyaratne expressed his enthusiasm at the event, emphasizing the platform’s goal of enhancing investor knowledge and accessibility. “Understanding the capital market is crucial for making profitable investment decisions, not only in equities but also in fixed income and other asset classes,” he stated.
Ariyaratne emphasized the importance of retail investors in capital markets, noting the surge of retail account participation not only in Sri Lanka but also globally. “Retail investors play a significant role in any equity market, and their participation is growing worldwide,” he said.
He highlighted that retail investors accounted for approximately 41% of participants on the National Stock Exchange of India and around 41% on the Sri Lankan stock market. The platform, called Analytical, aims to revolutionize the way investors interact with financial markets. Through a digital approach, it enables investors to access market expertise, research insights, and analytical tools, enabling them to make informed and knowledgeable decisions. The onboarding platform by CAL is completely digital and uses digital signatures and virtual meetings to facilitate the authentication of users. The platform was launched by a hybrid physical/virtual event held on August 3.
Chief Information Officer Tharindra Kulasinghe emphasized the growth of their digital investment platform, which already attracted over 25,000 customers who invested in various capital market products. The online platform initially offered access to unit trust funds, tertiary businesses, and bonds, and now it includes a partnership with Hatred and equity offerings through a research portal. The digital platform allows investors to seamlessly move between different asset classes and provides a simple dashboard to track their investments’ performance. The comprehensive toolkit assists investors in staying on top of the market, enabling personalized price alerts and tailored research reports based on their investment portfolios.
Head of Research Trisha Peries emphasized the simplicity and ease of access to information provided by Analytical. Investors can use the platform to perform their investment research, with extensive data and knowledge readily available at their fingertips. He demonstrated various features of the platform, including sector performance, individual stock analysis, market statistics, and live market data.
As a further act of democratization, CAL has reduced the minimum starting point for trading access from Rs 500,000 to Rs 100,000. CAL has recently switched over to the ATrad platform for the facilitation of its trading services. TP
