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SC Media Centre - IGI Financial Services

IGI Funds Limited awarded Management Quality Rating of ‘AM2-' (AM-Two Minus)

Karachi: February 12, 2011 – JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Ltd. (JCR-VIS) has assigned Management Quality Rating of ‘AM2-' (AM-Two Minus) with a stable outlook to IGI Funds Limited. This credit rating is indicative of the sound governance structure instituted at the management company and is an affirmation of the confidence that investors have placed in IGI Funds Limited.

IGI Funds Limited is a group company of the IGI Financial Services and Packages Limited. The Company is registered as a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to provide Asset Management and Investment Advisory Services in conformity with the NBFC Rules, 2003 and NBFC & NE Regulations 2008.

The company has five open ended funds under management namely IGI Income Fund, IGI Stock Fund, IGI Islamic Income Fund, IGI Money Market Fund and IGI Aggressive Income Fund. The IGI Income Fund has mostly remained insulated from the credit failures in the market and returns have remained consistent with YTD return of 11.35% (Jul10-Dec10). Return of IGI Stock Fund is close to the peer group average with YTD return of 19.96% (Jul10-Dec10). The IGI Islamic Income provides a liquid portfolio of Shariah approved fixed income investments with highly competitive returns to unit holders. The YTD return on the IGI Islamic income Fund was 9.81% (Jul10-Dec10). IGI Money Market Fund has been performing exceptionally with YTD return of11.35% (Jul10-Dec10). The recently acquired fund IGI Aggressive Income Fund (previously POBOP Advantage Plus Fund) is being restructured into a low risk portfolio.

The AMC is primarily engaged in floating & managing mutual funds. In addition to this, portfolio management of investment advisory mandates mobilized by the parent company is also supervised by IGI Funds. These mandates are both discretionary and non-discretionary in nature. Actual asset allocation of Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) is in line with portfolio mandates and returns are competitive vis-à-vis respective benchmarks.

Since Nov 2008, IGI Funds has more than doubled total AUM and currently manages over PKR 5.0bn making it one of the top ten AMCs in Pakistan based on assets under management. It was also amongst the fastest growing AMCs in FY10.

IGI Investment Bank launches Fund Select Portal

Karachi: January 20, 2011 – IGI Investment Bank Limited has introduced "Fund Select Portal". This is a unique web based portal facilitating both corporate and retail investors with on-line access to information concerning their investment and the industry. The announcement was made through a Press Conference in Karachi.

"It is my privilege and honor to introduce the Fund Select Portal. This web portal is just another milestone we have achieved in our attempt to be the best at what we do. Reducing the burden on our work force and increasing efficiency for our clientele is the aim of this portal, thus streamlining all aspects of real time access to financial information for our clientele," highlighted Mr. Syed Javed Hassan, Managing Director and Chief Executive of IGI Investment Bank Ltd.

The portal allows clients online access to details on their mutual fund investments as well as information related to the industry. The purpose behind providing this web based portal is to facilitate investors with an automated tool to reduce and eventually eliminate the need to call or seek Investment Advisory personnel for information regarding their investments. Multiple search parameters are available on the portal allowing the customers to search for information according to their requirements.

Mr. Asif Rashid Baloch, Head of Investment Advisory speaking at the occasion said, "This is the first time in Pakistan a web based portal has been developed to track the investment returns of Mutual Funds for customers on a real time basis. Customers will have access to investment information such as composition of existing portfolio, return on portfolio, account statement, investment history, industry specific information and much more on Fund select Portal. Going forward we believe the same application will provide the ease and confidence to a new generation of retail investors to venture out from the traditional investment avenues such as bank deposits & NSS to a wider investment universe, where all the investments are tracked on real time basis"

IGI Income Fund Receives A+ Rating

Karachi: January 11, 2011 – JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Ltd. (JCR-VIS) has assigned a preliminary fund stability rating of A+(f) (Single A plus (f)) to IGI Income Fund (IGIIF). This credit rating is indicative of stable returns with a sound credit risk profile.

IGIIF was introduced by IGI Funds Limited in April 2007 and has since demonstrated consistent growth and a stable performance. It strives to maintain a liquid portfolio that offers competitive returns while minimizing risk.

The credit report issued by JCR VIS highlights the conservative investment style of IGI Funds Limited. The Fund only invests in variable rate TFCs in order to minimize interest rate risk. As per the investment policy a minimum credit rating criterion of ‘AA-' (Double A Minus) is applicable for all counterparties. Furthermore, eligible collateral for reverse repo transactions is restricted to government securities and highly rated sub-debt instruments issued by commercial banks.

This credit rating is an affirmation of the confidence that investors have placed in IGI Income Fund and IGI Funds Limited. Since Nov 2008, IGI Funds has more than doubled total AUM and currently manages over PKR 5.0bn making it one of the top ten AMCs in Pakistan based on assets under management. It was also amongst the fastest growing AMCs in FY10.

IGI Funds Limited is a group company of IGI Financial Services and Packages Limited that provides Asset Management and Investment Advisory Services in conformity with the NBFC rules of 2003.