Shariah Equity Funds Review: Meezan Energy Fund wins by a neck

November 13, 2019: Despite tremendous improvement in the performance of the equity market during the month of October, the Shariah Compliant Equity Mutual Funds failed to excite investors with their returns, as they were less attractive than the ones provided by Equity Mutual Funds.

For the unversed, the KMI-30 index, which is the benchmark for Shariah Complaint Equity Funds, gained around 4,691 points during the month of October, i.e. up by 9.172% as compared to last month. This means that only 3 out of the total 17 funds managed to cross the standard rate of return.

Based on the data gathered by Mettis Global, the funds that provided fruitful returns during the stated period were Meezan Energy Fund, Al Ameen Shariah Stock Funds, and Atlas Islamic Stock Fund. It is prudent to mention that while the returns of remaining funds failed to touch the benchmark rate, they missed out on the yardstick by an insignificant margin.

Meezan Energy Funds (MEEZANEF) clearly emerged as the best performer during the month, as its Net Asset Value (NAV) hopped from Rs. 29.12 per share to Rs. 32.35 per share, signifying a growth of 11.07%. MEEZANEF placed 54% of its total investment in Oil and Gas Exploration Sector, followed by 27% in the Oil and Gas Marketing Sector and 14% in the Power Generation Sector.

Al Ameen Shariah Stock Fund (UBLASSF) took the second spot, as its NAV improved from Rs. 102.13 per share to Rs. 112.79 per share, indicating a return of 10.44%. With a high-risk profile, UBLSSF placed 33% of its investment in the Oil and Gas Exploration Sector and 16% in the Fertilizer Sector.

Atlas Islamic Stock Fund (ATLASISF) emerged as the second runner up, as it realized a 9.5% increase in its NAV, from Rs. 405.67 per share to Rs. 444.22 per share. Just like its predecessors, ATLASISF held most of its shares in the Oil and Gas Exploration and Fertilizer Sector.

Besides the abovementioned funds, NBP Islamic Energy Fund, HBL Islamic Stock Fund, and Meezan Islamic Fund also performed viciously, as they generated returns of 9.03%, 8.88% and 8.55% respectively.

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