
According to data compiled by the Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan (MUFAP), only four equity funds posted a monthly return of more than 4.77%, which was the month-on-month increase in the KSE-100 Index in April.
There was not a single equity fund in April that posted a net loss unlike many months in 2015-16 when equity funds would lose money amidst a bearish trend in the share market.
The best-performing equity fund in April was AKD Opportunity Fund that posted a return of 9.69%. It was followed by NAFA Stock Fund (5.78%), Atlas Stock Market Fund (4.87%) and Askari Equity Fund (4.85%).
Month-to-date performance was unavailable for MCB Pakistan Stock Market Fund on the MUFAP website at the end of April.

The worst-performing equity fund was PIML Value Equity Fund (2.09%) while JS Large Cap Fund (2.23%) and PICIC Energy Fund (2.55%) also performed worse than their competitors.
The national bourse remained in the grip of a bearish trend for Jul-Feb because of incessant foreign selling. Declining crude oil prices didn’t help either because they hurt the stocks in the index heavyweight oil and gas sector.
The average monthly foreign sell-off was $41.4 million in Jul-Feb, which came down to just $11.3 million in March, paving the way for the benchmark index to recover some of the prior losses.
Although foreign selling continued in April with net outflows amounting to $46 million, excluding the Hascol transaction worth $28 million on April 8, the stock market performed relatively well on the back of rising oil prices. The benchmark Arab Light crude went up 29% on a month-on-month basis in April.
As for Shariah-compliant equity funds, the highest return was posted by Meezan Islamic Fund (7.27%). Other mutual funds that posted a high return in April by investing in Shariah-compliant stocks were NAFA Islamic Active Allocation Equity Fund (5.01%) and NAFA Islamic Stock Fund (4.44%).
BMA Capital Research Analyst Muhammad Affan Ismail said the equity market is likely to remain range bound in May because of the “usual pre-budget dullness.” However, he added the potential reclassification of Pakistan into the MSCI Emerging Markets Index due on May 12 may result in continued uptrend in the current month.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2016.
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