PACRA Maintains Stability Rating of ABL Financial Sector Fund

ABL Financial Sector Fund (“ABL FSF” or “the Fund”), a moderate-risk profile fund, is positioned to deliver competitive risk-adjusted returns through investments in a blend of short, medium, and long-term fixed income and debt instruments. The Fund’s strategy emphasizes liquidity by maintaining significant exposure in short-duration avenues, while retaining the flexibility to hold cash when required. As of June 2025, the Fund’s assets under management (AUM) stood at PKR 54 billion. The Fund’s asset allocation reflected its liquid stance, with ~86% maintained in cash, ~8% placed with Banks/DFIs/MFBs, ~5% invested in Government of Pakistan Treasury Bills (T-Bills), while the remaining portion was deployed across other avenues. This structure ensures that the Fund retains sufficient liquidity to meet investor needs while balancing portfolio stability. The credit quality of the Fund remained diversified, with ~62% exposure in government securities/AAA-rated avenues, ~12% in A+ rated, ~24% in A rated, and the remaining portion across other investment-grade exposures. This composition reflects the Fund’s positioning in high-quality instruments while maintaining a moderate risk profile. The Weighted Average Maturity (WAM) of the Fund was reported at 31 days as of June 2025, underscoring its conservative maturity profile. This low level of WAM highlights the Fund’s allocation in short-term instruments, effectively containing exposure to both interest rate and credit risk. The unit holding structure of the Fund indicated moderate concentration, with the top 10 investors collectively accounting for ~31% of outstanding units at end-June 2025. While this introduces some degree of redemption pressure, the Fund’s dominant allocation in cash and short-term avenues provides adequate liquidity to comfortably meet withdrawals without impacting portfolio stability.
Going forward, any material changes in the investment policy and/or compliance with the rating criteria for the assigned rating would have an impact on the ratings.

About the Entity
Incorporated in 2007, ABL AMC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied Bank Limited (ABL). ABL operates with 1,400 plus branches including 117 Islamic banking branches, 8 Digital/ Self Service branches & 2 overseas branches. ABL AMC possesses licenses for asset management, pension management and investment advisory services. As the leading private sector asset management and investment advisory Company in Pakistan, offerings include a comprehensive range of both Conventional and Shariah Compliant investment solutions across all major asset classes. Assets under management of the Company stood at ~PKR 273bln at the end of Jun'25.