Under the direction of our management, and in line with the Basic Investor Relations Policy expressed below, Abbasi Group’s IR team promotes dialogue with its shareholders and investors as an essential aspect of corporate value. Our commitment to open communication both ensures accountability to our stakeholders, and plays an important role in growing our corporate value over the medium to long term.

• i) Disclosure of Material Information

Abbasi Group discloses company’s information as appropriate in a transparent and timely manner.

Important information is defined as corporate information that must be disclosed in a timely manner under the Acts when important matters concerning the Company or its subsidiaries are determined or when an important event occurs, and other corporate information requiring timely disclosure under the Acts.

• ii) Voluntary Disclosure

Abbasi Group also discloses general corporate information other than material information, when we deem it may have a material impact on the investment decisions of our shareholders and investors, as rapidly and transparently as possible.

To ensure our fair disclosure to shareholders and investors, group information is disclosed via the methods stipulated by Abbasi Group. Additionally, all such information is promptly posted on our corporate website.

Information falling outside the scope of material information is disclosed via news releases on web and our quarterly information meetings, and is also posted on our website. We reserve the right not to respond to enquiries regarding certain information related to competitiveness or privileged information that the Abbasi Group has a duty to protect.

In its disclosures, Abbasi Group may make forward-looking statements that reflect management’s views with respect to future plans, strategy, and financial performance. Such statements are based on information available at the time of disclosure and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. To ensure that investors are aware of these risks, Abbasi Group’s disclosures are accompanied by cautionary statements.

Abbasi Group’s IR Section handles communications with shareholders and investors. In principle, all Abbasi Group’s IR communications go through our IR spokespersons—the CEO, CFO, Executive Vice President and Vice President in Corporate Relations Group and IR personnel—but other executives, including outside directors, may also be appointed IR spokespersons in certain cases through IR personnel, depending on individual requirements and the content to be communicated. The IR section supports our IR spokespersons by liaising with other divisions and collating relevant and specialized information to enhance our dialogue with shareholders and investors.

In addition to our earnings announcements and postings on our public website, Abbasi Group strives to maximize shareholders’ and investors’ awareness of our business environment and management strategies through individual meetings, site tours, segment-specific briefings, and other such opportunities for communication.

Feedback and opinions received from shareholders and investors are shared at the Board of Directors, and incorporated into our planning for a sustainable level of business development and mid-to-long term enhancement of corporate value.

Abbasi Group has defined internal rules for the prevention of insider trading, as explained in the sections of Abbasi Group’s “Code of Conduct” related to management of company’s information and executive buying and selling of shares. Moreover, our IR spokespersons are consistently prudent in avoiding the disclosure of company’s information and other sensitive information in conversation or other venues for communication, where multiple personnel are typically present to check on one another.

To ensure fair disclosure of financial information, Abbasi Group stipulates a quiet period that runs from the day after the closing of each quarter until earnings for that quarter are announced, to prevent information leaks and to maintain disclosure fairness. During this period, the Company refrains from answering inquiries about business performance and related matters. However, company’s information subject to disclosure rules will be disclosed in an appropriate and timely fashion, even during quiet periods.

Abbasi Group will not evaluate or comment on any analyst reports concerning the Company. However, if a report contains factual errors relating to past events, those errors may be pointed out.

Our basic policy is not to comment on market rumours. However, in the event a market rumour exerts a significant influence on the capital markets, or one of the stock exchanges on which the Company is listed approaches us for clarification, we will respond appropriately and responsibly.

If you’re considering investing, it’s vital to get your finances in order before you begin. Check through these points to make sure you’re prepared.

“The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you could get back less than you invest. If you’re not sure about investing, seek independent advice.”

You shouldn’t think about investing money if doing so means risking the clothes off your back, or the roof over your head. The money you use for your investments should never come from the pot earmarked for paying the mortgage, or other essential household bills.Many of us don’t keep a close track of our incomings and outgoings. But you can’t begin to work out how much money you can afford to put aside for investments until you are fully on top of exactly what’s coming in to your bank account, what’s leaving it and where this money is going.

1. Put your money through a financial audit
   Undertaking a full audit of your personal finances may not be the most exciting way to spend your time, but it’s well worth doing. Not only will it give you a clear view of the real state of your finances, but you may also identify areas where you can make savings.Start by making a list of all your income. This will include your salary, any freelance fees, income from existing investments, interest from savings, as well as grants, pensions, benefits and any financial support relatives might provide. Make a note of when you receive this income and whether this is weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.Your next step should be to go through your bank statements and add up all your regular outgoings. It’s worth going back a few months in case there are payments that don’t go out every month. And, it’s a good idea to review direct debits and standing orders coming out of your account at the same time, as you may be paying for things you no longer need or use, such as magazine subscriptions or gym membership.Once you’ve listed all your outgoings, divide your expenditure into essential and non-essential categories, and look at ways you might be able to reduce your outgoings. For example, could you switch to a cheaper gas or electricity supplier, or might you be able to do without a landline if you usually rely on your mobile?The savings you make by reviewing these outgoings could be the start of your fund for investments.
2. Neither a borrower nor a lender be
   A key part of any personal finance audit will be to add up the accumulated debt on all your credit cards and work out how you can pay it off. If you want investments to become a way of making and earning money, you should try to pay off your debts first. The same resolve should be applied to any personal loans you’ve taken out. Debt of this kind can be a millstone around your neck preventing you from starting out as an investor. Borrowing to invest or investing to borrow can be a fast road to financial ruin. Don’t do either.
3. Rainy days and Mondays emergency account
   The money you set aside for investing should never be money that doubles up as an emergency savings fund. Investment money should be held over a long-term period – think at least five years as a minimum.You should, therefore, have some savings kept separate which are immediately accessible to pay unexpected bills – for example, if you need to fix a leaky roof, or take an emergency flight to visit a sick relative. Establishing an emergency or rainy-day fund must be a priority before you start investing.Once such a fund has been built up, you can be confident that there won’t be a call on the money you have set aside for investments.
4. Shore up the right levels of protection
   The financial audit process should also reveal where there are any gaps in your finances. For many this will be adequate insurance that would ease the financial strain if something goes wrong. Consider, for example, the financial impact on your family if the breadwinner lost their job, became too ill to work, suffered an accident, or if there was an unexpected death in the family. Have you got the right life insurance in place to protect you financially should the worst happen? What about income replacement cover if there’s a prolonged break in employment?
5. The kind of advice worth its weight in gold?
   Sound professional advice can be just the right input you need to work through your financial audit and steer you towards an action plan. A professional adviser will be able to point out what’s missing from your financial plans, and help you identify financial goals and how your investments may achieve them.Many investors feel confident enough to make their own decisions, but remember you don’t have to engage a professional adviser for your entire investing life. For some, expert input at the outset may be all it takes to get them going, while others may feel more comfortable receiving regular advice. Remember, too, whether you take advice or not, the investments you hold can fall in value as well as rise; you may get back less than you invest.

Investing is never an exact science, but there are certain rules which may help investors achieve their goals.

“The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you could get back less than you invest. If you’re not sure about investing, seek independent advice.”

Investing doesn’t need to be complicated or difficult, but there are a few golden rules which may help you stay on track so hopefully you can meet your financial objectives.

Bear in mind though, that however disciplined you are, and whichever rules you follow, investing involves risk, and you may still get back less than you put in.

Here’s our rundown of the 10 rules that every investor needs to know:

1. Set yourself goals
   

   Knowing what your financial goals are and what sort of timeframe you are investing over may help you stick to your strategy. For example, if you have long-terms goals, perhaps saving for retirement which may be several decades away, you may be less tempted to dip into your investments before you stop work.

2. The bigger the potential returns, the higher the level of risk
   

   The prospect of higher returns may be appealing, but there’s usually a greater risk of losing your money. Think carefully about your approach to risk. You may be more comfortable opting for less risky investments, even if returns are likely to be lower. Remember though, that no investment comes without risk, and there is always the chance you could get back less than you put in.

3. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
   

   We all know the saying ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’, but it’s particularly important to apply this rule when investing. Spreading your money across a range of different types of assets and geographical areas means you won’t be depending too heavily on one kind of investment or region. That means if one of them performs badly, hopefully some of your other investments might make up for these losses, although there are no guarantees.

4. Invest for the long-term
   

   Investing should never be considered a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. You need to remain invested for at least five years, but preferably much longer to give your investments the best chance of providing the returns you’re hoping for. Even then you must be comfortable accepting the risk that you could get less than you put in. If your investment goals are short-term, for example, two or three years away, investing won’t be right for you, as you’ll need to keep your money readily accessible, usually in a savings account.

5. If it seems too good to be true, it usually will be
   Beware highly speculative investments that seem too good to be true, and don’t follow the herd and invest just because other people are. For example, many investors piled into digital currency Bitcoin in the latter half of 2017 as its price surged, only to see its value halve in a month. In mid-December 2017, Bitcoin was trading at nearly $20,000, but it fell below $10,000 by mid-January 2018.
   
6. Never invest in anything you don’t understand
   

   Before you put your money into any investment, take time to research it thoroughly, so you understand exactly what’s involved and what the risks are. Funds, for example, issue a Key Investor Information Document (KIID), or Key Information Document (KID), which explains the fund’s key features and charges. You must read this before you invest. If you’re investing in individual businesses, make sure you know what the company does and how it plans to make money in future.

7. Factor in charges
   

   Charges will have an impact on your overall returns, so it’s important to take these into consideration when choosing your investments. For example, if buying funds, the Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF) is set out on the KIID/KID and provides the clearest picture of your actual costs. This figure includes the fund’s Annual Management Charge, and also the other main ongoing costs that were deducted from the fund the previous year. When you place a purchase instruction we will also present to you other costs of the fund which the manager does not include in the OCF. You should consider these costs carefully – for example, if a fund returns 4% and the OCF and other charges have previously come to 2%, your profit would have reduced to 2%.

8. Reinvesting income can help boost overall returns
   

   If you don’t need an income from your investments, you may want to consider reinvesting it to buy more of your investment which will potentially grow in value and boost your overall returns. In simple terms, your returns also earn returns, which is known as compounding. Bear in mind, however, that reinvesting income rather than taking it as cash means you could lose it or see its value fall. If any income you receive is reinvested automatically – for example, if you invest in shares directly and have signed up for automatic dividend reinvestment (ADR) – you also won’t be able to choose the price at which you’ll be buying any additional shares, so it could be low or high.

9. Don’t try to time the market
   

   In an ideal world, you’d be able to buy investments just before they increase in value and sell before they fall. However, no-one knows which way stock markets will move next, so trying to predict market ups and downs could mean that you end up buying or selling at just the wrong time. Buying and holding investments can help you remain committed to your investments for the long term, avoiding panic decisions when markets are volatile.

10. Review your portfolio
    Although too much tinkering with your investments isn’t usually a good idea, that doesn’t mean you should just forget about them. Your investments will change in value over time which may mean your asset allocation – how you choose to split your money between different assets, such as shares, bonds, cash and property – moves out of line with your investment objectives. That means you may need to rebalance your portfolio from time to time to make sure you’re still on track to meet your goals.