Mutual fund AUMs rise to Rs4.5tr; equities gain 7%

June 15, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan's mutual fund industry expanded further in May 2026, with total assets under management rising to Rs4.51trillion, as equity portfolios staged a sharp recovery driven by broad-based fund inflows.

Total equity AUMs climbed 7% month-on-month to Rs690bn, outpacing the flat performance in debt portfolios, which slipped marginally by 0.2% MoM to Rs3.82tr, according to Arif Habib Limited.

Shariah-compliant equity funds led the equity surge, rising 8% MoM to Rs327bn, while conventional equity funds grew 7% to Rs363bn.

Together, equity now accounts for 15% of total industry AUMs, one percentage point higher than in April, though debt continues to dominate the landscape at 85%.

Al Meezan Investment Management Ltd. remains the largest fund house in May 2026 with Rs704bn in total AUMs, anchored by its Shariah-compliant equity book of Rs107bn the largest Islamic equity pool in the industry.

NBP Fund Management Ltd. at Rs562bn and MCB Investment Management Ltd. at Rs418bn follow, though both carry heavy debt allocations.

ABL Asset Management Company retained the highest debt concentration in the industry at 95%, showing an unchanged conservative portfolio stance, while BMA Investment Advisors Limited posted a 98% debt allocation.

In the conventional equity space, National Investment Trust Ltd. leads with Rs89 billion, followed by NBP Fund Management at Rs61bn, UBL Fund Managers at Rs45bn, Atlas Asset Management at Rs43bn, and MCB Investment Management at Rs37bn.

On the Islamic equity side, Al Meezan commands Rs107bn more than double the nearest rival. Pak-Qatar Asset Management Company holds Rs46bn in Shariah-compliant equity assets, followed by UBL Fund Managers at Rs43bn, Faysal Asset Management at Rs24bn, and Lucky Investments at Rs23bn.

OGDC retained its position as the most widely held stock in May 2026, featuring in 96 funds and accounting for 7.7% of total equity AUMs, with fund holdings rising 6.6% MoM to Rs53.35bn.

FFC remained the second-largest holding at Rs43.88bn across 79 funds, posting an 11.8% MoM gain.

PPL recorded the strongest growth among large holdings, with fund ownership rising 19.9% MoM to Rs37.07bn, while LUCK climbed 13.7% to Rs35.76bn.

MARI and KOHC also posted notable gains of 10.6% and 16.9% respectively, showing renewed interest in energy and chemical names.

Not all names participated in the rally. NML shed 69.3% of its fund ownership value MoM, the sharpest decline among the top 30, while ATRL fell 11.6% and PSO slipped 2.3%, suggesting selective repositioning out of certain textile and refining holdings.

In terms of free-float ownership, PSO leads the list with mutual funds collectively holding 38.0% of its free float as of May 2026, the highest concentration among tracked stocks.

OGDC followed at 25.0%, with KOHC at 24.1%, PPL at 23.3%, and KTML at 20.9% also reflecting significant institutional ownership relative to their public floats.

This level of concentration keeps these stocks sensitive to any large-scale shifts in equity fund flows.

FATIMA posted the highest MoM change in fund holdings among the top 30, surging 40.0%, followed by SRVI at 24.8% and PPL at 19.9% the three standout performers of the month.

In aggregate, the top-30 equity holdings represented 62.7% of all equity AUMs in May 2026, equivalent to Rs432bn, a slight dip from 63.2% in April, though fund managers remain broadly clustered around a core universe of large-cap liquid names.