Press Release
VIS Reaffirms Fund Stability Rating of HBL Income Fund
Karachi, January 03, 2022: VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (VIS) has reaffirmed the Fund Stability Rating (FSR) of HBL Income Fund (HIF) at ‘A+ (f)’ (Single A plus (f)). Previous rating action was announced on December 31, 2020.
HIF is an open ended fund which aims to provide a stable stream of income while maintaining a moderate level of risk. Net assets of the funds increased to Rs. 2.3b (FY20: Rs. 1.5b) in the outgoing fiscal year. As per Investment Policy Statement (IPS), fund’s duration is capped at 365 days while exposures can only be taken in investment grade rated instruments.
The fund complied with the credit quality requisites for the assigned ratings with sizeable exposures taken in spread transaction during the year and since breaches in Weighted Asset Maturity (WAM) and Duration were small, reaffirmation of rating is supported. In FY21, the fund’s net assets primarily remained concentrated in cash and corporate TFCs/ Sukuks on a monthly average basis followed by T-Bills, PIBs and spread transactions. The fund remained in second quartile in fund performance, underperforming its benchmark return rate. Around three-fifth of the fund base is provided by retail investors; nonetheless, top-10 investors’ concentration is on the higher side indicating room for improvement.
For further information on this rating announcement, please contact Mr. Muhammad Tabish (Ext: 204) or Ms. Faryal Ahmad Faheem (Ext: 306) at 35311861-66 or email at info@vis.com.pk
Saeed Khan
Executive Director
Applicable rating criteria: Fund Stability Ratings (December 2020)
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/backupsqlvis/docs/FundstabilityRating.pdf