Press Release

VIS Reaffirms Fund Stability Rating of BMA Empress Cash Fund

Karachi, December 26, 2019: VIS Credit Rating Company Limited has reaffirmed the Fund Stability Rating (FSR) of BMA Empress Cash Fund (BECF) at ‘AA+ (f)’ (Double A Plus (f)). The previous rating action was announced on December 28, 2018.

BECF operates as an open-end money market scheme investing in low risk short term money market instruments while maintaining a high level of liquidity. Given the restrictions on weighted average time to maturity (WAM) and asset allocation, the fund’s exposure to various sources of risk is expected to remain low. Fund’s investment policy requires the fund to invest in securities with a minimum credit quality rating of AA with which it complied throughout the year. The fund has remained compliant with WAM guidelines during the review period.

Size of the fund depicted volatility in FY19 and stood higher at Rs. 167.1m (FY18: Rs. 101.1m) at end-June 2019; however net assets subsequently improved to Rs. 233.8m by end-November 2019. Unit holder concentration in the fund is sizeable; however the fund is largely deployed in liquid avenues providing support to assessment of liquidity profile.

For further information on this rating announcement, please contact Mr. Jamal Abbas Zaidi (Ext: 207) or Mr. Muhammad Ibad Desmukh (Ext: 205) at 35311861-70 or fax to 35311872-3.



Jamal Abbas Zaidi
Advisor

Applicable rating criteria: Fund Stability Ratings (September 2018)
http://vis.com.pk/kc-meth.aspx

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