The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has assigned a 5-Star fund rating (Category: Equity Fund) to Pakistan Strategic Allocation Fund (PSAF), which reflects a superior performance relative to its peers. The rating is a composite measure of two factors namely a) returns, b) risk associated with the returns measured by Sharpe Ratio.

About the fund: The Pakistan Strategic Allocation Fund (PSAF), a closed-end equity fund, was established under a trust deed executed between Arif Habib Investment Management Limited (AHIML) as Investment Adviser and Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) as Trustee. The fund started investing activities in August 2004. PSAF is a value based asset allocation fund, the objective of which is to invest mainly in equity securities. The overall exposure in equity market depends on the valuation of the market based on a detailed quantitative model, which also calculates fair values of the selected equity stocks using automated software. When the equity market is fairly overvalued or not trading at sustainable levels, the funds are divested from equities and deployed in fixed income investments.

About the Asset Manager: AHIML, incorporated in August 2000, is one of the largest asset management companies in Pakistan managing assets of above PKR 17bln at end-05. The majority stake in the company is held by Arif Habib Securities Limited (AHS). AHS, which started as a traditional security firm, is now acquiring the character of a holding company for Arif Habib Group.