PACRA Maintains Stability Rating of Alhamra Cash Management Optimizer | Rating Watch Assigned

Alhamra Cash Management Optimizer ("ALHCMOP" or the "Fund") is a low-risk profile Fund. The objective is to provide a competitive rate of return by investing primarily in liquid Shariah-compliant money market avenues. The ratings reflect the Fund's low credit quality and high liquidity profile. As per the investment policy, the Fund can invest only in AA and above-rated avenues with maximum maturities up to 6 months. However, the weighted average time to maturity of the net assets shall not exceed 90 days. As of Mar'24, the size of the Fund is PKR ~17,852mln. The credit quality of the Fund was ~46% in AA rated category and ~42% in AAA rated avenues at the end of Mar’24. At the end of Mar’24, the Fund had allocated ~46% in banks in the form of deposits and placements, 41% in GOP Ijara sukuk, 8% in short term sukuk and the remaining was invested in others. The duration and the WAM of the Fund stood at 55 day at the end of Mar’24 limiting the exposure to interest rate and credit risk. The assigned rating captures the management's intent to enhance the allocation towards AAA rated avenues up to 50% and the remaining in AA+ rated avenues which is a prerequisite for the assigned rating. The unit holding pattern of the Fund was ~44.50% representing the top ten investor concentration as of Mar’24, exposing the Fund to moderate level of redemption pressure.
Going forward, in accordance with the investment policy and assigned ratings, the Fund will invest in Government securities, AAA or AA rated avenues according to its authorized investments. Any material changes in the investment policy or the devised rating criteria for the assigned rating would have an impact on the ratings.

About the Entity
MCB Investment Management Limited (MCBIM or the "Company") is a Public Listed Company, regulated by the SECP. MCBIM holds licenses for Asset Management, Investment Advisory, and Pension Fund Management. MCBIM caters to both conventional and Shariah-compliant clientele and is currently managing a diverse product slate of twenty one open-end funds and four voluntary pension schemes. MCBIM is also managing one of the largest AUMs under the SMA segment and holds a significant position in the investment advisory domain.
The major shareholders of MCBIM are MCB Bank Limited ~81.42%, and Adamjee Insurance Company Limited ~7.59%. The general public holds the remaining ~11% of the shares. Mr. Khawaja Khalil Shah is the CEO of the company. There are four non-executive directors, three directors are independent and one executive director (CEO). The AUMs of MCBIM stood at PKR 199bln at end-Mar'24.