The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (Pacra) has assigned Five-Star fund rating (Category: Balanced Fund) to Unit Trust of Pakistan (UTP), which reflects superior performance relative to its peer.
The rating is a composite measure of two factors namely a) returns, and b) risk associated with the returns measured by Sharpe Ratio.
UTP has been Pakistan's first open-end scheme in the private sector. It was established under a trust deed executed in April 1997. Currently, the Central Depository Company (CDC) is the trustee of the Fund. The primary objective of UTP is aimed at preserving investors' capital while maximising value and maintaining a stable stream of income. The objective is achieved by providing investors with balanced exposure to equity securities, debt instruments and short-term placements.
Incorporated in 1995, Abamco is the largest private sector asset management company in Pakistan, managing assets of around Rs 27 billion. It is a subsidiary of Jahangir Siddiqui & Company Limited (JSCL), the flagship and main holding company of the JS group. Other institutional shareholders of Abamco include AMVESCAP Plc--a leading global asset management company--and International Finance Corporation, a part of the World Bank group.
Abamco has an asset manager rating of 'AM2', which reflects the company's very strong capacity to manage the risks inherent in asset management. The Chief Executive of Abamco, Najam Ali, is a Chartered Accountant, with extensive exposure to the financial sector.
Its Chief Investment Officer is an MBA, with significant buy-side and sell-side experience in Pakistan's financial and capital markets. The fund manager of UTP is also an MBA, having considerable experience in the financial sector.
FIRST CAPITAL MUTUAL FUND: JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Ltd (JCR-VIS) has assessed the fund performance ranking of First Capital Mutual Fund Limited (FCMF) for the period ended December 31, 2005, at 'MFR 4-Star', which denotes 'good performance' vis-à-vis other closed-end mutual funds.
The Time Weighted Return (TWR) of FCMF was 27 percent, while the maximum TWR within the peer group was at about 49 percent. Minimum TWR for the same group was negative 0.4 percent.