PACRA maintains Stability Rating of MCB Pakistan Fixed Return Fund

MCB Pakistan Fixed Return Fund (the ‘Fund’) is a very low risk-profile open ended fund. The duration of the Fund is perpetual; however, allocation plan(s) launched by MCB-AH under this Fund may be perpetual or may have fixed maturity. The objective of the Fund is to provide an attractive fixed return at maturity of the Allocation Plans, by investing in Fixed Income Securities. Since the Fund is not directly offering its units to the investor rather offering shall only be made through allocation Plans launched from time to time under the umbrella of this Fund.
All plans, in line with their Investment Objectives, will invest in the authorized investment avenues. The Management Company shall ensure the fixed return is delivered to the investors. The Fixed return shall be valid only for the investors who remain invested till the maturity of the pertinent plan. Investment avenues for the plans are government securities, cash in banks, money market placements, deposits, certificate of deposits, certificate of musharakas and TDRs.
MCB Pakistan Fixed Return Plan V, VI & IX are in compliance with the authorized investment policy. At May'23, the Plans had placed 92.8% of its assets in 1year T-Bills. The weighted average maturity and the duration of the Plan stood at 17days and 5days depicting very low credit risk.
MCB Pakistan Fixed Return Plan VII & XI are in compliance with the authorized investment policy. At May'23, the Plans had placed ~99.7% of its assets in 12month T-bills. The weighted average maturity and the duration of the Plan stood at 140days and 126days, however, since the investments are in Govt. Securities, hence, the credit risk is at a manageable level.
The top ten investor's concentration in above plans were; Plan V: 35%, Plan VI: 60%, Plan VII: 74.3%, Plan IX: 98.5% and Plan XI: 81.2% representing moderate level of redemption pressures. Since the plans have fixed maturity, the redemption pressure is on lower side.
Going forward, the Fund will invest in accordance with its authorized investment policy and maintain its exposure in authorized instruments. Material changes in the Fund's asset allocation strategy, impacting its credit quality and/or exposure to interest rate risk, would affect the rating. Furthermore, compliance with the assigned rating criteria on the Fund level would remain imperative.

About the Entity
MCB-AH is a Public Listed Company, regulated by the SECP. The Company holds licenses for Asset Management, Investment Advisory, and Pension Fund Management catering to both conventional and Shariah-compliant clientele and is currently managing a diverse product slate of nineteen open-end funds and two voluntary pension schemes. MCB-AH is also managing one of the largest AUMs under the SMA segment and holds a significant position in the investment advisory domain.
On April 18, 2023, MCB Bank Limited (MCB) has acquired 30.09% shares of MCB-AH from Arif Habib Corporation Limited (AHCL) increasing the shareholding in MCB-AH from 51.33% to 81.42% and AHCL no longer holding any shares in MCB-AH. Adamjee Insurance Company Limited holds ~8% shares and the general public holds remaining ~11% of the shareholding. Mr. Saqib Saleem is the CEO of the company. MCB-AH's control vests in an eight-member board of directors, including the CEO. There are four non-executive directors, while three directors are independent. The AUMs (CIS & VPS) of MCB-AH declined to PKR 153.8bln at end-May'23 (Dec'22: PKR 160bln).