Analyst
Madiha Sohail
madiha.sohail@pacra.com
+92-42-35869504
www.pacra.com
Applicable Criteria
Related Research
PACRA Assigns Initial Stability Rating to JS Money Market Fund
Rating Type | Stability Rating | |
Current (31-Aug-23 ) |
||
Action | Initial | |
Long Term | AA+(f) | |
Short Term | - | |
Outlook | Stable | |
Rating Watch | - |
JS investments limited has launched JS Money Market Fund (or "JSMMF") for making its portfolio more diverse and meaningful for its investors. JS Money Market Fund (or the 'Fund') is a low-risk profile Fund. JSMMF is launched to attract retail as well as corporate segment. The investment objective of the JSMMF is to provide a competitive return to its investors (with a periodic payout as may be set out by the Management Company) by investing in low-risk, highly liquid, and short-duration portfolio consisting of money market instruments. As per investment policy, the Fund will take a minimum of 90% exposure in the Government Securities/AAA on a quarterly basis and will remain invested in avenues rated AA and above. The assigned rating reflects the strong strength of the Fund's credit and interest rate risk profile. At the end-Jun'23, the Fund had placed ~32.73% in T-Bills, ~29.40% in PIBs, ~7.81% in Short Term Sukuk, ~3.57% of net assets in banks, whereas the remaining was invested in Others. At the end of Jun'23, the WAM and Duration are reported at 50 days. The unit holding pattern of the Fund is highly concentrated with the top ten investors representing ~92.91% of the Fund's assets including ~6.95% of related party transactions; exposing the Fund to a high level of redemption pressure.
Going forward, material changes in the Fund's asset allocation strategy, impacting its credit quality and/or exposure to interest rate risk, would affect the rating. While compliance with the rating criteria for the assigned rating would remain imperative.
About
the Entity
JS Investments Limited is the oldest private sector Asset Management Company in Pakistan. The company was established in 1995 and is listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The Company is part of the Jahangir Siddiqui (JS) Group. JS Bank Limited holds ~85% shareholding in the Company. JS Group has strong presence in the financial sector with entities operating in banking, insurance, brokerage, and asset management sectors. The group has recently ventured into energy infrastructure and OMC segments. JS Investments possesses licenses for Asset Management Services, Investment Advisory, Private Equity, Venture Capital services and REIT management. The Company is headed by Ms. Iffat Zehra Mankani. She possess over 20 years of global experience in both public and private markets across multiple asset classes.
The Company’s board of directors comprises eight members including the Chief Executive Officer. The board is dominated by representatives of JS Bank Limited and Jahangir Siddiqui & Company Limited. The board has two independent directors while all the other directors are non-executive directors. The board members possess strong profile and skills suited to the financial services industry. Assets under management of the Company stood at ~PKR 36.2bln at end Jun'23.