Back in January of 2015 in the Presidential election, the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated by Maithripala Sirisena, to the surprise and delight of most people. Under the previous president’s watch, the country’s economy was mired in corruption and stagnation, and was for all intents and purposes, an “illiberal democracy.”

Since then a month ago there were parliamentary elections in which the defeated president attempted to make a comeback, but this time as a member of the house; however, the electorate made their feelings known. Now Sri Lanka has the opportunity of turning the corner and really delivering on that promise. The country has been moving cautiously towards a free market system, though like in India, things move slowly, especially because the bloated bureaucracy remains entrenched and won’t give up their "thiefdoms" without a fight. But judging by the enthusiasm in the voices of those fund managers, the bureaucrats have finally met their match.

With the economy hopefully about to turn the corner, this may be an opportune moment for developing market investors to take another look at the country. Unfortunately for US investors, there are no Sri Lankan based companies with ADRs traded on the exchanges, nor are there any Sri Lankan focused ETFs. However, there is now available for the first time an ability to invest directly by way of a fund based on the S&P SL20 benchmark index of the Colombo Stock Exchange. For those wanting more information they would do well to visit the website of the asset managers who contacted me at www.arpicoataraxia.com.

(nasdaq.com)