Karachi, December 28, 2021 (PPI-OT):VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (VIS) has reaffirmed the Fund Stability Rating (FSR) of First Habib Cash Fund (FHCF) at ‘AA+ (f)’ (Double A Plus (f)). The previous rating action was announced on December 31, 2020. FHCF is a money market fund with an objective to provide its investors competitive returns while maintaining high liquidity by deploying assets in short-term debt instruments. The fund’s exposure as per their Investment Policy Statement is limited to minimum ‘AA’ rated or higher debt issue/issuer exposures.

Assigned rating takes into account strong growth in fund size to Rs. 16.9b (FY20 3.6b) at end-FY21 along with fund’s liquid asset allocation plan and sound credit quality. In line with its mandate, the fund managed to preserve the assets allocation in allowable securities, with no deviations in the actual asset allocation. In terms of credit quality, 78% of the fund’s exposure remained concentrated in AAA rated issue/issuer.

Market risk also remained low as WAM of the fund remained under the 90 day limit. Fund performance during the year witnessed some volatility with relative performance with respect to peers depicting a decline from last year, however, the fund managed to outperform its benchmark return on annual basis. With exposure of the fund primarily in liquid avenues and low risk profile, ability of the fund to meet redemptions is considered sound.

For more information, contact:
Director Compliance and Rating Analytics,
VIS Credit Rating Company Limited
VIS House, 128/C, 25th Lane off Khayaban-e-Ittehad,
Phase VII, DHA, Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-35311861-72
Fax: +92-21-35311873
Email: bilal@jcrvis.com.pk
Website: https://www.vis.com.pk/