First Guardian - Equities takes stock broking to new heights

First Capital Equities changed its name to First Guardian Equities from Wednesday. This follows the exit of debt specialist First Capital Ltd. (FCL) from the stock brokering business. FCL's 40% stake was purchased by Dawi Investment Trust; Ranjan Hulugalle, an existing director of the company and Lakdasa Hulugalle, a Geneva based Oxford educated former UN Economist.

The company backs its investment advice with solid indepth top down research using the quantitative and qualitative methods keeping with the best international wealth management practices. It deploys cutting edge technology to gather, store and distribute timely and accurate information to its key stakeholders.

The brokerage pays detailed attention to systems and processes to ensure accuracy and efficiency in deal execution and reporting, benchmarking against world-class service organisations.

The Company has committed itself to be the guardian and the protector of its client's wealth and has the board of directors behind the company's plans and strategies.

Three of the original investors in the company, the Hirdaramani Group, the high net worth New York based Sri Lankan Raj Rajaratnam of the Galleon Hedge Fund and Guardian Equity have remained as shareholders and backers.

Under the new structure B. R. L. Fernando, Deputy Chairman Commercial Bank and Chairman and CEO of the CIC Group of companies and Ranil Pathirana, finance director in several companies in the Hirdaramani Group, continue to extend their services to the company, while some prominent figures in the corporate world are to join the board soon.

The First Guardian Equities team is driven by Managing Director and CEO Rohan Goonewardene, who has wide experience studying and working in the UK and Switzerland and Ranjan Hulugalle, a US-based Sri Lankan lawyer and President of Hulugalle Capital, a Las Vegas based fund management company.