PACRA Assigns Initial Ratings of JS Government Securities Fund

JS investments limited has launched JS Government Securities for making its portfolio more diverse and meaningful for its investors. The objective of JS Government Securities Fund (or the “Fund”) aims to preserve investor’s capital while providing a regular stream of current income on an annual basis which is higher than that offered by commercial banks on deposits of a similar liquidity profile. The fund operates a diverse portfolio of investment-grade debt securities, government securities and money market instruments. The Fund reflect medium-risk profile. The investment policy of the Fund allows it to take minimum 70% exposure in Govt Securities, an average quarterly basis. The Fund had allocated 3.5% in Banks, mainly AAA rated whereas 96.1% in T-Bills. The Duration and WAM of the Fund stood at 1-day, limiting the exposure to interest rate and credit risk.
Going forward, compliance with rating criteria for assigned rating and maintaining liquidity would remain imperative. Material changes in the fund's asset allocation strategy, impacting its credit quality and/or exposure to interest rate risk, would affect the rating.

About the Entity
.JS Investments Limited is one of the oldest private sector Asset Management Company in Pakistan. The company was established in 1995 and is listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The Company is part of the Jahangir Siddiqui (JS) Group. JS Bank Limited holds ~85% shareholding in the Company. JS Group has strong presence in the financial sector with entities operating in banking, insurance, brokerage, and asset management sectors. The group has recently ventured into energy infrastructure and OMC segments. JS Investments possesses licenses for Asset Management Services, Investment Advisory, Private Equity, Venture Capital services and REIT management. The Company is headed by Ms. Iffat Zehra Mankani. She possess over 20 years of global experience in both public and private markets across multiple asset classes.
The Company’s board of directors comprises eight members including the Chief Executive Officer. The board is dominated by representatives of JS Bank Limited and Jahangir Siddiqui & Company Limited. The board has two independent directors while all the other directors are non-executive directors. The board members possess strong profile and skills suited to the financial services industry. Assets under management of the Company stood at ~PKR 29.6bln at end Jun'22 and are spread across sixteen open-end mutual funds and two voluntary pension schemes. Investment platforms are provided to investors for both conventional and Islamic markets.