PACRA Maintains Stability Rating of NAFA Riba Free Saving Fund

The mandate of the fund is to earn a reasonable rate of return in Shariah compliant manner along with capital preservation by constructing a portfolio of highly liquid short-term products.

The rating reflects strong liquidity profile of the fund emanating from the maximum exposure of fund as cash balances. At end-Dec 17, 92% of the fund's assets were placed as cash balances with various commercial banks, with minimum rating of 'A-', (55%) of the funds were invested with banks rated ‘AAA’. Remaining assets of the fund were invested in commercial papers. The unit holding pattern of the fund is concentrated with top10 investors representing 44% of the fund.
Going forward the fund intends to enhance the share of GoP Ijarah Sukuks in the portfolio while keeping rest of the assets as daily cash balances and placements with 'A-' and above rated bank. Material changes in the fund's asset allocation strategy, which could negatively impact the fund's credit quality and exposure to interest rate risk, remains critical for the rating.

About the Entity
NBP Fund Management Limited (Formerly: NBP Fullerton Asset Management Limited), established in 2005, is licensed by Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) to carry out asset management and investment advisory business. NBP is the largest shareholder of the AMC with a stake of ~54%, followed by Alexandra Fund Management Pte. Ltd ~36% stake. The CEO of NBP Fund, Dr. Amjad Waheed, also holds a stake of 10% in the company.

Company nine-member Board of Directors comprise the company’s CEO, three representatives of NBP, two representatives of FFMG and three independent directors. During the year Mr. Mudassir Husain Khan and Mr. Tariq Jamali joined the company’s board as a Non-Executive directors, both are the representatives of the bank. The company is currently managing a diversified fund slate of twenty funds in the categories of asset allocation, income, equity and money market.