The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has assigned a 4-Star fund rating (Category: Balanced Fund) to BSJS Balanced Fund Limited (BBF), which reflects a good performance relative to its peer. The rating is a composite measure of two factors namely a) returns, and b) risk associated with the returns measured by Sharpe Ratio.

About the fund: BBF, a closed-end fund, was incorporated in March 1994 as a public limited company and is listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange. ABAMCO Limited is acting as the company’s ‘investment advisor’ and MCB Bank Limited as its ‘custodian’. The primary objective of BBF is to maximize the total investment return, which would consist of a combination of capital appreciation and income. The principal activity of the Fund is to make investments in marketable securities including equity and debt instruments. The equity portion of the portfolio seeks capital growth by investing in stocks that meet certain fundamental and technical standards of selection and in the opinion of the Investment Advisor, better-than-average potential for appreciation alongwith liberal dividend distribution policies.  The objective is achieved through investing in selected stocks, TFCs, reverse repo transactions, government securities and placing funds as saving and term bank deposits.

About the Asset Manager: Incorporated in 1995, ABAMCO is the largest private sector asset management company in Pakistan, managing assets of around PKR 27bln. It is a subsidiary of Jahangir Siddiqui & Company Limited (JSCL), the flagship and main holding company of the JS group. Other institutional shareholders of ABAMCO include AMVESCAP Plc. – a leading global asset management company – and International Finance Corporation, a part of the World Bank Group.