PACRA Assigns Initial Stability Rating To ABL Special Savings Fund

ABL Special Savings Fund shall be an open-end Capital Protected Fund that aims to provide not only its unit-holders capital preservation but competitive regular returns from a portfolio of fixed-income investments in line with the risk tolerance of the Investor. The Fund shall offer multiple Allocation Plans, hereafter, investing in authorized investable avenues. The undermentioned Plans are currently offered under the Fund: i) Special Saving Plan I, ii) Special Saving Plan II, iii) Special Saving Plan III, iv) Special Saving Plan IV, v) Special Saving Plan V, vi) Special Saving plan VI, vii) Special Saving Plan Fixed Return Plan. The duration of the Fund is perpetual; however, the underlying Allocation Plans launched may have a fixed maturity or could be perpetual as well.
At the end of Sep’23, the Fund's average credit quality was ~60% in Govt/AAA, ~7.2% in double AA+, ~25.2% in double AA- and ~7.6% in others. The AUMs of the Fund stood at PKR 39,870mln at the end of Sep’23 (Dec’22: PKR15,121mln). At the end of Sep'23, the Fund had allocated ~32.4% in cash deposits, ~58.4% invested in government securities (PIBs and T-bills), and the remaining in others. The Fund's average duration stood at 219 days at the end Sep’23, exposing the fund to high interest rate risk. The average WAM of the Fund stood at 459 days at the end of Sep’23, exposing High credit risk, however, it is manageable due to holdings in Government Securities. At the end of Sep’23, the average unit holding pattern of the fund stood at ~71.0 % representing top-ten investor concentration, hence, giving rise to a high level of redemption pressure. However, strong liquidity on the back of strong credit quality is providing comfort to redemption pressure. During the month of Sep’23, ABL Special Savings Fund posted an average annualized return of 22.33% against the average Benchmark return of 21.95% thereby overperforming the Benchmark by 38 bps.
Going forward, The compliance with the credit rating quality criteria for the assigned rating would remain crucial.

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 131bln at the end of Sep'23.