PACRA Maintains the Stability Rating of Atlas Income Fund

Atlas Income Fund ("AIF" or "the Fund") is categorized under a medium-risk profile, with the objective of providing unit holders a competitive rate of current income consistent with reasonable safety of principal, liquidity, and investment flexibility. As of Dec'25, the Fund's Assets Under Management (AUM) stood at PKR 10,197mln, compared to PKR 9,457mln as of Jun'25 (the last review), reflecting a steady growth of approximately PKR 740mln during the review period, indicative of sustained investor confidence in the Fund's income-oriented proposition. In terms of asset allocation, approximately 61% of the portfolio was invested in Treasury Bills, 17% in PIBs, 17% in cash, and ~4% in TFCs/Sukuks, reflecting a predominantly sovereign-oriented, short-to-medium duration portfolio with a selective allocation to corporate debt instruments for incremental yield enhancement. From a credit quality perspective, approximately 98% of the Fund's assets were invested in AAA rated instruments and Government Securities, with negligible allocations to AA- and A+ rated instruments at ~1% each. This near-pristine credit profile is considered a key credit strength, reflecting the Fund's disciplined adherence to top-tier credit exposures and providing a highly resilient foundation to the portfolio against potential credit stress scenarios. The Fund's Weighted Average Maturity (WAM) stood at 215 days as of Dec'25, reflecting moderate sensitivity to interest rate movements. While this duration profile is meaningfully shorter than longer-tenor income fund peers, it nonetheless introduces a degree of mark-to-market sensitivity that warrants monitoring in the context of evolving monetary policy. That said, the Fund's dominant T-Bill allocation provides a natural repricing buffer, partially offsetting the interest rate risk inherent in its PIB exposure. Meanwhile, the unit holding pattern reflects a high degree of concentration, with the top 10 investors accounting for ~85% of the Fund's total holdings, of which ~66% comprise associated companies and related parties, which are typically sticky in nature, providing a relatively stable and captive investor base. This largely mitigates the redemption risk that would otherwise be associated with such a narrow unit holder profile. In terms of performance, the Fund reported an annualized one-year return of 11.42% as of Dec'25, against a benchmark return of 11.08%, reflecting an outperformance of approximately 34 basis points. This above-benchmark outcome is assessed as a commendable result for a medium-risk income fund, reflecting the Fund's effective duration and allocation management during the review period. The Fund's well-timed positioning across the sovereign yield curve, particularly its dominant T-Bill allocation, has enabled it to generate competitive risk-adjusted returns while maintaining a strong credit profile underscoring the Fund's disciplined and consistent investment approach.
Going forward, the material changes in the Fund's asset allocation strategy, which could impact the Fund's credit quality and exposure to interest rate risk, would remain critical for the rating.

About the Entity
AAML, incorporated in August 2002, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shirazi Investments (Pvt.) Limited – the holding company of Atlas Group. Atlas Group, founded in 1962 with the establishment of Shirazi Investments, is a diversified group with having presence in manufacturing, power, financial services, and trading. The Company’s seven-member Board of Directors comprises five representatives of Atlas Group including the CEO, the other two are independent directors. Mr. Iftikhar H. Shirazi serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of AAML along with several other companies of the Group. The board has three committees to provide oversight on the Company’s affairs: 1) Audit Committee, 2) Human Resource & Remuneration Committee, and 3) Investment Committee. The Company had AUMs of PKR 162bln at end of Dec'25.