Announcements

GCR accords a fund rating* of AA(ZA)(f) to Ashburton Money Market Fund; Outlook Stable.

Johannesburg, 21 December 2017—Global Credit Ratings has accorded Ashburton Money Market Fund a national scale fund rating* of AA(ZA)(f); with the outlook accorded as Stable.

SUMMARY RATING RATIONALE

Global Credit Ratings (“GCR”) has accorded the above fund rating to Ashburton money Market Fund (“Ashburton MMF”, “the fund”), key features of which are summarised below, based on the following key criteria:

Fund summary
Fund currency South African Rand
Fund data review date 31 October 2017
Assets under management (“AUM”) R2.4bn
Net asset value (“NAV”) Targeted constant price of R1.00
Fund benchmark Short Term Fixed Interest (“STeFI”) 3-month Index

Fund rating factors: In determining a fund rating, GCR qualitatively assesses the fund’s management, and performs an evaluation of the fund portfolio’s historical performance in terms of price/return volatility, underlying asset quality, and market and liquidity risks.

Fund profile: Ashburton MMF has a conservative fixed income mandate, executed in favour of its institutional/corporate and retail investors, seeks to maximise interest income whilst preserving capital and offering high liquidity. The fund complies with regulatory requirements for money market (“MM”) funds, investment policy, the trust deeds, and features T+0 liquidity and duration not exceeding 3 months.

Asset manager profile: Ashburton Investments performs the fund and investment management functions in house, outsourcing administration activities. Based on the manager’s track record, it possesses the competence, capability and capacity to manage the fund. Very strong management practices, compliance and risk monitoring facilitate performance objectives within mandate constraints and targeted constant NAV requirement. Furthermore, the fund’s marketing, risk management, compliance and administration follow market best practice.

Investment performance: The fund’s 12 month rolling return has exceeded the benchmark over the past 3 years. The fund’s compound annual growth rate for AUM over the past 3 years was 23.9%, albeit the trend has been somewhat volatile. Average AUM is on an upward trajectory, while being constrained by availability of investments. Investor flows are volatile (due to a concentrated investor base), however, the fund has adequate strategies in place to simultaneously meet investment objectives and manage liquidity. Strategies include investor concentration limits, client relationships and communication, and high levels of liquid assets.

Portfolio quality and market risk: GCR’s portfolio analysis considers credit/concentration risk, tenor/duration (and limits), and additional sources of market risk, in addition to Ashburton MMF’s stress-tested weighted average credit rating (“WACR”) of ‘AA-(ZA)(f)’ in determining the fund rating. Interest rate risk is assessed as very low, given that regulation limits the weighted average duration of the fund to 90 days. Sensitivity to spread risk is low, as regulation caps the fund’s weighted average maturity at 120 days and limits final maturity of any individual portfolio asset to 13 months.

Key fund risks: High credit counterparty concentration is the fund’s key risk. Credit concentration is a systemic issue and affects all MM funds in South Africa, due to the high allocations of bank securities in these funds’ portfolios.

An increase in the WACR of the portfolio, accompanied by stability or improvement in concentration risks, could enhance the rating. Mandate breaches, and/or deterioration in credit, liquidity or concentration risks, could negatively affect the rating.

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* Fund ratings provide an opinion regarding the fund’s ability to preserve principal value under varying market conditions; with reference to the relevant asset management environment (refer to published rating scales and definitions).

NATIONAL SCALE RATINGS HISTORY    
     
Initial/last rating (December 2017)    
Fund rating: AA(ZA)(f)    
Rating outlook: Stable    

ANALYTICAL CONTACTS

Primary Analyst   Secondary Analyst
Vimbai Muhwati   Kudzanai Samanga
Credit Analyst   Junior Credit Analyst
(011) 784-1771   (011) 784-1771
vimbaim@globalratings.net   kudzanais@globalratings.net
     
Committee Chairperson    
Marc Chadwick    
Sector Head: Insurance Ratings    
(011) 784-1771    
chadwick@globalratings.net    

APPLICABLE METHODOLOGIES AND RELATED RESEARCH

Global Master Criteria for Rating Funds and Asset Managers, updated March 2017

RATING LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS

ALL GCR’S CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://GLOBALRATINGS.NET/UNDERSTANDING-RATINGS. IN ADDITION, GCR’S RATING SCALES AND DEFINITIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT THE FOLLOWING LINK: HTTP://GLOBALRATINGS.NET/RATINGS-INFO. GCR’S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, PUBLICATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AT HTTP://GLOBALRATINGS.NET.

SALIENT FEATURES OF ACCORDED RATINGS

GCR affirms that a.) no part of the rating was influenced by any other business activities of the credit rating agency; b.) the rating was based solely on the merits of the rated entity, security or financial instrument being rated; c.) such rating was an independent evaluation of the risks and merits of the rated entity, security or financial instrument; and d.) the validity of the rating is for a maximum of 12 months, or earlier as indicated by the applicable fund rating document.

Ashburton Investments participated in the rating process via face-to-face management meetings, tele-conferences and other written correspondence. Furthermore, the quality of information received was considered adequate and has been independently verified where possible.

The fund rating has been disclosed to Ashburton Investments with no contestation of the rating.

The information received from Ashburton Investments and other reliable third parties to accord the fund rating included:

  • A breakdown of the fund investment portfolio, including information on the instruments, their terms, conditions and credit quality;
  • A breakdown of the fund investor portfolio, including fund flows and withdrawal terms;
  • Detail on historical fund returns, fee structures, and expense ratios;
  • Details regarding the fund management, investment management and administration activities of the fund;
  • Financial statements for Ashburton management Company (RF) (Proprietary) Limited at 30 June 2016;
  • Corporate governance and enterprise risk framework; and
  • Industry comparative data and regulatory framework.

The rating above was solicited by, or on behalf of, Ashburton Investments, and therefore, GCR has been compensated for the provision of the rating.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS/ACRONYMS USED IN THIS DOCUMENT AS PER GCR’S FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS GLOSSARY

Asset A resource with economic value that a company owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide future benefit.
Asset Quality Refers primarily to the credit quality of a bank’s earning assets, the bulk of which comprises its loan portfolio, but will also include its investment portfolio as well as off balance sheet items. Quality in this context means the degree to which the loans that the bank has extended are performing (ie, being paid back in accordance with their terms) and the likelihood that they will continue to perform.
Capital The sum of money that is invested to generate proceeds.
Corporate Governance Refers to the mechanisms, processes and relations by which corporations are controlled and directed, and is used to ensure the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of an entity to its stakeholders.
Credit Rating An opinion regarding the creditworthiness of an entity, a security or financial instrument, or an issuer of securities or financial instruments, using an established and defined ranking system of rating categories.
Credit Rating Agency An entity that provides credit rating services.
Financial Statements Presentation of financial data including balance sheets, income statements and statements of cash flow, or any supporting statement that is intended to communicate an entity’s financial position at a point in time.
Interest Scheduled payments made to a creditor in return for the use of borrowed money. The size of the payments will be determined by the interest rate, the amount borrowed or principal and the duration of the loan.
Interest Rate The charge or the return on an asset or debt expressed as a percentage of the price or size of the asset or debt. It is usually expressed on an annual basis.
Interest Rate Risk Interest rate risk in the banking book is the risk that earnings or economic value will decline as a result of changes in interest rates. The sources of interest rate risk in the banking book are repricing/mismatch, basis and yield curve risk.
International Scale Rating LC International local currency (International LC) ratings measure the likelihood of repayment in the currency of the jurisdiction in which the issuer is domiciled. Therefore, the rating does not take into account the possibility that it will not be able to convert local currency into foreign currency or make transfers between sovereign jurisdictions.
Liquid Assets Assets, generally of a short term, that can be converted into cash.
Liquidity The speed at which assets can be converted to cash. It can also refer to the ability of a company to service its debt obligations due to the presence of liquid assets such as cash and its equivalents. Market liquidity refers to the ease with which a security can be bought or sold quickly and in large volumes without substantially affecting the market price. 
Liquidity Risk The risk that a company may not be able to meet its financial obligations or other operational cash requirements due to an inability to timeously realise cash from its assets. Regarding securities, the risk that a financial instrument cannot be traded at its market price due to the size, structure or efficiency of the market.
Long-Term Not current; ordinarily more than one year.
Long-Term Rating Reflects an issuer’s ability to meet its financial obligations over the following three to five year period, including interest payments and debt redemptions. This encompasses an evaluation of the organisation’s current financial position, as well as how the position may change in the future with regard to meeting longer term financial obligations.
Maturity The length of time between the issue of a bond or other security and the date on which it becomes payable in full.
National Scale Rating Provides a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities only within the country concerned. Under this rating scale, a ‘AAA’ long term national scale rating will typically be assigned to the lowest relative risk within that country, which in most cases will be the sovereign state.
Net Asset Value The value of an entity’s assets less its liabilities. It is a reflection of the company’s underlying value and is usually quoted on a per share basis.
Portfolio A collection of investments held by an individual investor or financial institution. They may include stocks, bonds, futures contracts, options, real estate investments or any item that the holder believes will retain its value.
Principal The total amount borrowed or lent, e.g. the face value of a bond, excluding interest.
Provision The amount set aside or deducted from operating income to cover expected or identified loan losses.
Rating Outlook Indicates the potential direction of a rated entity’s rating over the medium term, typically one to two years. An outlook may be defined as: ‘Stable’ (nothing to suggest that the rating will change), ‘Positive’ (the rating symbol may be raised), ‘Negative’ (the rating symbol may be lowered) or ‘Evolving’ (the rating symbol may be raised or lowered).
Risk The chance of future uncertainty (i.e. deviation from expected earnings or an expected outcome) that will have an impact on objectives.
Risk Management Process of identifying and monitoring business risks in a manner that offers a risk/return relationship that is acceptable to an entity’s operating philosophy.
Securities Various instruments used in the capital market to raise funds.
Security An asset deposited or pledged as a guarantee of the fulfilment of an undertaking or the repayment of a loan, to be forfeited in case of default.
Short-Term Current; ordinarily less than one year.
Short-Term Rating An opinion of an issuer’s ability to meet all financial obligations over the upcoming 12 month period, including interest payments and debt redemptions.
Tenor The time from the value date until the expiry date of a financial instrument.
   

For a detailed glossary of terms please click here

GCR accords a fund rating* of AA(ZA)(f) to Ashburton Money Market Fund; Outlook Stable.

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