Press Release

VIS Reaffirms Fund Stability Rating of Askari Sovereign Yield Enhancer

Karachi, December 27, 2023: VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (VIS) has reaffirmed Fund Stability Ratings (FSR) of Askari Sovereign Yield Enhancer (ASYE) at ‘AA-(f)’ (Double A Minus (f)). Medium to long-term entity rating of ‘AA-’ reflects high degree of stability in Net Asset Value; Risk is modest but may vary slightly from time to time because of changing economic conditions. Previous rating action was announced on January 04, 2023.

Launched in December 2011, Askari Sovereign Yield Enhancer (ASYE) is an open-end income fund, managed by Pak Oman Asset Management Limited. The objective of the Fund is to generate relatively higher yield than the conventional bank deposits, from a portfolio constituted of credit worthy sovereign instruments and banking sector fixed income instruments and deposits.

The Fund has experienced sizeable growth in its Assets Under Management (AUMs), reaching Rs. 122m as of June’23 (June’22: Rs. 25m). The Fund has recorded several instances of non-compliance with stipulations outlined in the Offering Document (OD) during FY23. Although, it remains compliant with the stipulated minimum rating of A- as dictated in the Offering Document (OD), the Fund has not adhered to the VIS credit risk criteria for the assigned rating by making significant investments in ‘A’ rated securities. Going forward, adherence to the VIS credit risk methodology will be important for rating.

The fund is required to maintain a Weighted Average Maturity (WAM) of under 5 years and a modified duration of under 3 years as per OD, and it adhered to these limits in FY23. The fund’s unit holding pattern continued to be dominated by retail investors, while the top 10 investors hold 99.6% of the total. During FY23, the fund outperformed its peer average returns but did not meet the benchmark return and was placed in the second quartile compared to its peers.

For further information on this rating announcement, please contact Mr. M. Amin Hamdani (Ext: 217) or the undersigned (Ext: 201) at (021) 35311861-4 or email at info@vis.com.pk.





Javed Callea
Advisor

Applicable Rating Criteria: Fund Stability
https://docs.vis.com.pk/docs/FundstabilityRating.pdf

VIS Issue/Issuer Rating Scale
https://docs.vis.com.pk/docs/VISRatingScales.pdf

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