Analyst
Madiha Sohail
madiha.sohail@pacra.com
+92-42-35869504
www.pacra.com
Applicable Criteria
Related Research
PACRA Maintains Stability Rating of Atlas Liquid Fund
Rating Type | Stability Rating | |
Current (17-Apr-23 ) |
Previous (14-Oct-22 ) |
|
Action | Maintain | Upgrade |
Long Term | AA+(f) | AA+(f) |
Short Term | - | - |
Outlook | Stable | Stable |
Rating Watch | - | - |
Atlas Liquid Fund ("ALF" or the "Fund") is a low risk profile Fund. The investment objective of the Fund is to provide competitive return to its investors by investing in low risk, highly liquid and short duration portfolio consist of money market instruments. The assigned rating reflects the Fund's strong credit and interest rate risk profile emanating from its investment strategy. The Fund had allocated ~49.07% in T Bills, rated AAA, ~41.35% in Banks, ~6.02 in CPs, ~3.16% in Sukuk while remaining was invested in Others. The WAM and duration of the Fund stood at 23 days in the end Dec’22 limiting the exposure to credit risk and low interest rate. The Fund remained compliant with the rating criteria for the assigned rating. The top 10 investors concentration of the Fund, at Dec’22 was ~100%, keeping very high level of redemption pressure.
Going forward, the material changes in the Fund's asset allocation strategy, impacting its credit quality and/or average duration, would affect the rating.
About
the Entity
Atlas Asset Management Limited, incorporated in August 2002 and a part of Atlas Group, is a wholly owned (100%) subsidiary of Shirazi Investments (Pvt.) Limited - the holding company of the Group. Atlas Group, established in 1962, is one of the well-known business groups of the Country with a presence in manufacturing, financial, and trading sectors.
AAML's seven-member board of directors comprises four representatives of Atlas Group, two independent directors and the CEO. The CEO of the Company, Mr. Muhammad Abdul Samad, has completed the Advanced Management Program from INSEAD and holds postgraduate qualifications from the University of Karachi and the Southeastern University, he also holds certification from IFMP. He has been associated with the Company for over seventeen years and held C-Suite positions for over a decade. He has a significant Board experience, where he has served as a director on the board of nineteen listed companies, including Atlas Battery Limited, Lucky Cement, Berger Paints, Mirpurkhas Sugar, amongst others along with vast experience of the mutual fund industry. The Company is currently managing five conventional and five shariah compliant funds, along with two in the VPS category. The assets under management stood at ~PKR 49bln at end Dec'22.