Press Release

JCR-VIS Reaffirms Fund Stability Rating of HBL Income Fund at A(f)

Karachi, March 13, 2015: JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Ltd. (JCR-VIS) has reaffirmed the Fund Stability Rating of HBL Income Fund (HIF) at ‘A(f)’ (Single A(f)). The previous rating action was announced on October 28, 2013.

HIF aims to provide competitive returns with a moderate to low risk investment strategy. Actual asset allocation has remained in favor of sovereign instruments which comprised more than two-thirds of assets in FY14. The management has already made provision against all non-performing exposures. Exposure in PIBs was increased during the last quarter of 2014 to benefit from the decline in interest rates, though it has more recently been shifted to T-Bills. Exposure in corporate debt instruments comprised about one-fifth of assets at end-February 2015.

Month-on-month return of the fund has depicted volatility which may be attributed primarily to changes in benchmark rate and the resultant impact on portfolio valuation, given that a sizeable portion of the portfolio comprises fixed rate instruments. Exposure to interest rate risk will continue to be monitored by JCR-VIS for impact on the fund’s overall risk profile.

For further information on this rating announcement, please contact Ms. Sobia Maqbool, CFA (Ext: 604) at 35311861-70 (10 lines) or fax to 35311872-3.



Jamal Abbas Zaidi
Deputy CEO

Applicable Rating Criteria: Fund Stability Ratings (February 2012)

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