CAL Balanced Fund vs CT Smith Equity Fund
Prices as at 26 Aug 2026. Both are balanced funds, so they are measured over the same window on the same basis. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
In short
Over the last 180 days CAL Balanced Fund returned −8.58% and CT Smith Equity Fund returned −2.82%, both to 26 Aug 2026. CAL Balanced Fund is the cheaper of the two at 0.75% a year against 1.75%. CAL Balanced Fund opens at LKR 100.
Side by side
Returns are price returns on the bid side, computed by us from daily published prices.
| CAL Balanced Fund | CT Smith Equity Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund manager | Capital Alliance Investments Ltd | CT Smith Asset Management (Pvt) Ltd |
| Category | Balanced | Balanced |
| 180-day returnPrice return, bid side | −8.58% | −2.82% |
| Management feeA year, deducted before pricing | 0.75% | 1.75% |
| VolatilityAnnualised, from daily prices | 24.52% | 17.43% |
| Largest fallPeak to trough, our record | −20.67% | −15.31% |
| Minimum investment | LKR 100 | LKR 1,000 |
| Pricing days we hold | 327 | 327 |
A blank means unknown, not zero: our price record for that fund does not reach back far enough, or the figure is not published.
What actually differs
CAL Balanced Fund is run by Capital Alliance Investments Ltd and CT Smith Equity Fund by CT Smith Asset Management (Pvt) Ltd, so this compares two houses as well as two funds. Both are balanced funds licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, which means they are doing broadly the same job, and the differences below are differences in how each house has chosen to do it.
The clearest difference is the management fee. CAL Balanced Fund charges 0.75% a year against CT Smith Equity Fund's 1.75%, a gap of 1.00 percentage points. On LKR 100,000 held for a year that is about LKR 1,000 more retained by a holder of CAL Balanced Fund, before any difference in what the two funds actually earn. The fee is deducted from the fund's assets before the unit price is struck, so it applies whatever the market does — which makes it the one number here that is knowable in advance.
Over the 180 days to the date shown, CT Smith Equity Fund returned −2.82% against CAL Balanced Fund's −8.58%, a gap of 5.76 percentage points. That is one window: a different 180 days would very likely order them differently, and neither figure predicts the next six months. Both are price returns on the bid side and exclude income a fund distributed rather than accrued into its price.
Both have moved by a similar amount, with annualised volatility of 24.52% and 17.43%. For two funds in the same category that is the expected result, and it means neither has taken noticeably more price movement than the other to arrive at its return.
CAL Balanced Fund opens at LKR 100 where CT Smith Equity Fund requires LKR 1,000, so for a smaller first investment only one of the two is available at all.
Among the 8 balanced funds we price daily, CAL Balanced Fund ranks 6th on 180-day return and CT Smith Equity Fund 1st, against a category median of −6.93% over the same window. On fee they sit 1st and 8th cheapest of the 8, where the median is 1.00%. On how much the price has moved, CAL Balanced Fund is 7th steadiest and CT Smith Equity Fund 3rd.
Common questions
Which has the lower fee, CAL Balanced Fund or CT Smith Equity Fund?
CAL Balanced Fund, at 0.75% a year against 1.75%. The management fee is deducted before the unit price is struck, so the returns shown on this page are already after it.
Which is less volatile, CAL Balanced Fund or CT Smith Equity Fund?
Neither is markedly steadier: 24.52% against 17.43% annualised, measured from daily prices. That is a normal result for two funds in the same category.
Can I hold both funds at the same time?
Yes. Unit trusts are bought independently of each other and holding two does not affect either. Whether holding both makes sense for a particular person depends on their circumstances, which is a question for a licensed investment adviser rather than for this page.
What is the minimum investment for each?
CAL Balanced Fund opens at LKR 100 and CT Smith Equity Fund at LKR 1,000. Minimums are set by each fund manager and can change, so treat these as the last published figures rather than a quotation.
This page sets out how two funds differ on measures we can state and date. It is not a recommendation, it does not say which fund is better, and CeylonFunds is not a licensed investment adviser. How every figure is calculated is in our methodology.
Related
Daily unit prices published by the Unit Trust Association of Sri Lanka (utasl.lk). Performance figures as published by the respective fund managers.