The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited
18-Apr-24
Analyst
Hassaan Ahmad
Hassaan.Ahmad@pacra.com
+92-42-35869504
www.pacra.com
Applicable Criteria
Related Research
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PACRA Maintains Stability Rating of Atlas Money Market Fund
| Rating Type | Stability Rating | |
|
Current (18-Apr-24 ) |
Previous (18-Oct-23 ) |
|
| Action | Maintain | Maintain |
| Long Term | AA+(f) | AA+(f) |
| Short Term | - | - |
| Outlook | Stable | Stable |
| Rating Watch | - | - |
Atlas Money Market Fund (or the "Fund") is a low risk profile Fund. The investment objective of the Fund is to provide a stable income stream with preservation of capital by investing in AA and above rated banks and short-term Government Securities. The assigned rating reflects the Fund's strong credit and interest rate risk profile emanating from its investment strategy. The Fund had allocated ~49.28% of the Funds’ investments in Banks in AA category, ~45.48% in Government Securities (PIBs, Floater PIBs & T Bills), ~2.54% in Short Term Sukuk in AA category while remaining was invested in others at the end of Dec'23. The WAM of the Fund stood at 64 days, limiting the credit risk of the fund. The Duration of the Fund stood at 69 days at the end of Dec'23, limiting the interest rate risk of the fund. At the end of Dec'23 the Fund's unit holding pattern of top 10 investors concentration were ~58.5% out of which ~13.75% is related party holdings, hence giving rise to moderate level of redemption pressure.
Going forward, the material changes in the Fund's asset allocation strategy, which could impact the Fund's credit quality and exposure to interest rate risk, would remain critical for the rating.
About
the Entity
AAML, incorporated in August 2002, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shirazi Investments (Pvt.) Limited – the holding company of Atlas Group. Atlas Group, founded in 1962 with the establishment of Shirazi Investments, is a diversified group with having presence in manufacturing, power, financial services, and trading. The Company’s seven-member Board of Directors comprises five representatives of Atlas Group including the CEO, the other two are independent directors. Mr. Iftikhar H. Shirazi serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of AAML along with several other companies of the Group. The board has three committees to provide oversight on the Company’s affairs: 1) Audit Committee, 2) Human Resource & Remuneration Committee, and 3) Investment Committee. The Company had AUMs of PKR 71.120bln at end Dec'23 (Dec'22: ~PKR 49.02bln).