Press Release

JCR-VIS Maintains Management Quality Rating of Magnus Investment Advisors Limited

Karachi, October 24, 2017: JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Ltd. (JCR-VIS) has maintained the Management Quality Rating (MQR) of Magnus Investment Advisors Limited (Magnus) at ‘AM2 (IA)’ (AM Two (IA)). Outlook on the assigned rating has been revised from ‘Stable’ to ‘Positive’. Previous rating action was announced on May 4, 2016.

The assigned rating incorporates company’s orientation towards self-regulation, transparency and conformity to regulatory requirements. Ratings also reflect a well-formalized investment process, qualified senior management team and adequate control processes at Magnus. Quality of reporting to clients is considered comprehensive in nature and standardization of services has been observed across clients.

Total Assets under Management (AUMs) of Magnus have depicted an increasing trend; growth in AUMs has been facilitated by addition of new clients and higher AUMs of existing clients. Moreover, growth has also been witnessed in the size as well as number of discretionary portfolios managed by Magnus as model returns were higher than actual returns of non-discretionary portfolios in majority of the cases. This increase in AUMs translated into higher revenues. Consistency in these trends is considered vital from rating perspective going forward.

Client retention rate of Magnus is also considered to be on the higher side, acting as a further testament to high satisfaction levels of clients. Concentration in fee based revenues has decreased on a timeline basis, however, the same remains significant in absolute terms. Performance of both fixed income and equity portfolios of Magnus is competitive in relation to established benchmarks.

Board of Directors at Magnus includes seasoned professionals with considerable experience in financial and industrial sectors. Board exercises adequate oversight in terms of business affairs. However, for alignment with best board governance practices, the position of the chairman of the board and CIO need to be separately held along with filling of a casual vacancy in the Board, which has been outstanding.

For further information on this rating announcement, please contact the undersigned (Ext: 201) at 35311861-70 or fax to 35311872-3.


Javed Callea
Advisor

Applicable Rating Criteria: Management Quality Rating Investment Advisors
http://www.jcrvis.com.pk/Images/MQR-Mehtodology-2015.pdf

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