Announcements

GCR affirms Investec Corporate Money Market Fund’s rating of AA+(ZA)(f); Outlook Stable.

Johannesburg, 23 March 2017 — Global Credit Ratings has today affirmed the national scale fund rating* accorded to Investec Corporate Money Market Fund of AA+(ZA)(f); with the outlook accorded as Stable.

SUMMARY RATING RATIONALE

Global Credit Ratings (“GCR”) has affirmed the above fund rating to Investec Corporate Money Market Fund (“the fund, “CORPMM”), key features of which are summarised below.

Fund summary
Fund currency South African Rand
Fund data review date 31 January 2017
Assets under management (“AUM”) R21.2bn
Net asset value (“NAV”) Targeted constant price of R1.00
Fund benchmark STeFI Call Deposit Index

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. This fund rating was based on the following key criteria:

Fund profile: The conservative fixed income mandate of CORPMM aims to deliver returns in excess of call rates. The mandate seeks to maximise interest income, whilst preserving capital and offering high liquidity, attracting primarily corporate and institutional investors. Regulatory, mandate, and investment policy compliance are evident. CORPMM features same day liquidity and targets investors with a 3 month (or longer) investment horizon.

Asset manager profile: Investec Asset Management (Proprietary) Limited (“IAM”) performs fund/investment management functions in house, outsourcing selected administration functions. GCR assesses CORPMM as being managed within a very strong fund management and control environment, which supports the rating. IAM’s competence, capability and capacity facilitate achievement of performance objectives within mandate constraints. Marketing, risk/compliance and administration follow international best practices.

Investment performance: The fund’s return has exceeded the benchmark over the past 3 years. 1-year volatility is assessed as very low (3- and 5-year volatility: low). CORPMM’s simple structure and transparent, conservative investment bias and return profile have resulted in a significant increase of AUM over the past 3 years.

Portfolio quality and market risk: GCR’s portfolio analysis considered credit/concentration risk, tenor/duration (and limits), yield volatility (very low), and additional sources of market risk. CORPMM’s stress-tested weighted average credit rating (“WACR”) is ‘AA(ZA)’. 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 also very low, as regulation caps the fund’s weighted average legal maturity at 120 days and limits final maturity of any individual portfolio asset to 13 months.

Key fund risks: Counterparty/investor concentrations, and liquidity. High investor concentration reflects the fund’s corporate and institutional client base. Credit concentration (assessed as very high for CORPMM) is a systemic issue in South Africa, and affects most interest bearing money market funds, due to the typically high allocation of investments in financial institutions in these funds’ portfolios. The fund’s concentrated investor base and same day liquidity offering leave it susceptible to large and volatile fund (out)flows. Nevertheless, adequate strategies are in place to manage liquidity, including investor concentration monitoring, and holding high levels of liquid assets (rated at least ‘A-(ZA)’ or equivalent).

An increase in the WACR of the portfolio, accompanied by stability or improvement in concentration/duration metrics, could enhance the rating. Mandate breaches, rising investor concentrations, and/or significant deterioration in credit, liquidity and/or market risk metrics, 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 (March 2016)    
Fund rating: AA+(ZA)(f)    
Rating outlook: Stable    

ANALYTICAL CONTACTS

Primary Analyst   Secondary Analyst
Omega Collocott   Vimbai Muhwati
Sector Head: Financial Institution Ratings   Junior Credit Analyst
(011) 784-1771   (011) 784-1771
omegac@globalratings.net   vimbaim@globalratings.net
     
Committee Chairperson    
Jennifer Mwerenga    
Senior Credit Analyst    
(011) 784-1771    
jennifer@globalratings.net    

APPLICABLE METHODOLOGIES AND RELATED RESEARCH

Global Master Criteria for Rating Funds and Asset Managers, updated March 2016

CORPMM rating report (2016)

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.

Investec Asset Management (Proprietary) Limited participated in the rating process via face-to-face management meetings, teleconferences 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 Investec Asset Management (Proprietary) Limited with no contestation of the rating.

The information received from Investec Asset Management (Proprietary) Limited 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;
  • Corporate governance and enterprise risk framework; and
  • Industry comparative data and regulatory framework.

The rating above was solicited by, or on behalf of, Investec Asset Management (Proprietary) Limited, 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.
Capital The sum of money that is invested to generate proceeds.
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.
Exposure Exposure is the amount of risk the holder of an asset or security is faced with as a consequence of holding the security or asset. For a company, its exposure may relate to a particular product class or customer grouping. Exposure may also arise from an overreliance on one source of funding.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tenor The time from the value date until the expiry date of a financial instrument.

For a detailed glossary of terms utilised in this announcement please click here

GCR affirms Investec Corporate Money Market Fund’s rating of AA+(ZA)(f); Outlook Stable.

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