The Board of Directors of Atlas Asset Management Limited (AAML) the management company of Atlas Income Fund (AIF) and Atlas Islamic Income Fund (AIIF), on Friday, April 24, 2009 approved interim dividends for AIF and AIIF for the third quarter ended March 31, 2009.
A payout of Rs 7.50 per unit of par value of Rs 500 (1.5 per cent) was approved for AIF while a payout of Rs 30.00 per unit of par value of Rs 500 (6 per cent) was approved for AIIF. This brings the total payout for the year to 4.25 per cent for AIF. The NAV of AIF for the 3rd quarter ended March 31st appreciated by 29.16 per cent on an annualised basis to close at 508.78.
AIIF, which is invested 100 per cent in cash instruments, has yielded an annualised return of 11.89 per cent for the quarter ended March 2009. The annualised YTD return stands at 12.61 per cent. The appreciation in NAV of Atlas Stock Market Fund (ASMF) for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 is 40.36 per cent, amongst the highest returns in the industry for the quarter in review.
The KSE 100 Index posted a gain of 16.97 per cent during the period in review. ASMF outperformed the KSE 100 Index by 23.39 per cent. Atlas Islamic Fund (AISF) has yielded a return of 45.04 per cent since January 2009, which is the highest return in the category for the 3rd quarter ended March 31, 2009. AISF has outperformed the Dow Jones-JS Pakistan Islamic Index by 11.12 per cent.
The Board also approved the Atlas Pension Fund (APF) and Atlas Pension Islamic Fund (APIF), which are voluntary pension schemes established under Voluntary Pension System Rules, 2005. The equity sub funds of APF and APIF showed a return of 38.66 per cent and 45.91 per cent, respectively.
The debt sub funds showed an annualised return of 11.54 per cent and 12.77 per cent, respectively and the money market sub funds showed an annualised return of 10.57 per cent and 12.48 per cent, respectively, during the period under review. Atlas Asset Management Limited (AAML), managing Atlas Funds and Atlas Pensions, is sponsored by Shirazi Investments (Pvt) Ltd, a holding company of Atlas Group.-PR