The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited
14-Oct-22
Analyst
Madiha Sohail
madiha.sohail@pacra.com
+92-42-35869504
www.pacra.com
Applicable Criteria
Related Research
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PACRA Maintains Stability Rating of Atlas Islamic Money Market Fund
| Rating Type | Stability Rating | |
|
Current (14-Oct-22 ) |
Previous (15-Apr-22 ) |
|
| Action | Maintain | Maintain |
| Long Term | AA(f) | AA(f) |
| Short Term | - | - |
| Outlook | Stable | Stable |
| Rating Watch | - | - |
Atlas Islamic Money Market Fund (or the "Fund") reflects the Fund's low risk profile. The assigned rating reflects the Fund's moderate credit and interest rate risk profile emanating from its investment strategy. The Fund had allocated ~57.6% in bank rated mainly AAA, ~24.7% in TFC/Sukuks. While ~15.5% in placement with banks/DFIs. The duration and the WAM of the Fund both stood at 31 days (Dec’21: 23 days), limiting the Fund's exposure to interest rate and credit risk. In order to maintain the assigned rating the Fund must need to invest in AAA rated avenues to maintain the good credit quality. The top 10 investors concentration of the Fund, at Jun’22 was ~86.32%, of which ~42% are related parties, keeping redemption pressure to low level.
Going forward, the material changes in the Fund's asset allocation strategy, impacting its credit quality and/or average duration, would affect the rating.
About
the Entity
Atlas Asset Management Limited, incorporated in August 2002 and a part of Atlas Group, is a wholly owned (100%) subsidiary of Shirazi Investments (Pvt.) Limited - the holding company of the Group. Atlas Group, established in 1962, is one of the well-known business groups of the Country with a presence in manufacturing, financial, and trading sectors.
AAML's seven-member board of directors comprises four representatives of Atlas Group, two independent directors and the CEO. The CEO of the Company, Mr. Muhammad Abdul Samad, has completed the Advanced Management Program from INSEAD and holds postgraduate qualifications from the University of Karachi and the Southeastern University, he also holds certification from IFMP. He has been associated with the Company for over seventeen years and held C-Suite positions for over a decade. He has a significant Board experience, where he has served as a director on the board of nineteen listed companies, including Atlas Battery Limited, Lucky Cement, Berger Paints, Mirpurkhas Sugar, amongst others along with vast experience of the mutual fund industry. The Company is currently managing five conventional and five shariah compliant funds, along with two in the VPS category. The assets under management stood at ~PKR 45bln at end Jun'22