Johannesburg, 18 April 2019 – Global Credit Ratings has affirmed the national scale fund rating* accorded to STANLIB 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 accorded to STANLIB Corporate Money Market Fund (“STANLIB CMMF”, “the fund”), key features of which are summarised below.
| Fund summary | |
| Fund currency | South African Rand |
| Fund data review date | 31 January 2019 |
| Assets under management (“AUM”) | R42.1bn |
| Net asset value (“NAV”) | Targeted constant price of R1.00 |
| Fund benchmark | STeFI Composite 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 fixed income mandate of STANLIB CMMF is to offer investors a means to participate in well-diversified portfolio of money market instruments, with a priority on capital preservation, low risk and high liquidity. The mandate targets corporate and institutional investors.
Asset manager profile: STANLIB performs fund and investment management in house. In our view, STANLIB CMMF is managed within a strong fund management and control environment, supported by the manager’s track record. The fund has consistently achieved its performance objectives within the constraints of its mandate while adhering to quality management practices. Overall, we believe that the fund’s marketing, risk management, compliance and administration follow market best practice.
Investment performance: The fund’s 12 month rolling returns have exceeded benchmark yields since inception, while very low volatility over 1, 3 and 5 year time horizons supports a ‘very low risk’ assessment of the portfolio. The compound annual growth rate for AUM over the past 3 years is 16.4% (1 year: 18.0%), albeit volatile mainly due to the characteristic cash demands of its investor base. In our opinion, the fund has adequate strategies in place to simultaneously meet investment objectives and manage liquidity.
Portfolio quality and market risk: GCR’s portfolio analysis considered credit/concentration risk, tenor/duration (and limits), and additional sources of market risk, in addition to STANLIB CMMF’s stress-tested weighted average credit rating (‘WACR’) of ‘AA(ZA)’. The fund adhered to the regulatory limit on the weighted average duration of 90 days, and we assessed interest rate risk as very low. Similarly, sensitivity to spread risk is also assessed as very low, given that regulation limits the fund’s weighted average legal maturity to 120 days and limits final maturity of any individual portfolio asset to 13 months.
Key fund risks: GCR views high counterparty/investor concentrations and liquidity STANLIB CMMF’s key risks, with high investor concentration attributable to the fund’s corporate and institutional client structure. However, we recognise credit concentration as a systemic issue in South Africa, affecting most or all variable rate, money market type fixed income funds (due to the high proportion of investments in financial institutions). Overall, we are of the opinion that there are adequate strategies in place to manage liquidity, including investor concentration monitoring, and holding adequate levels of liquid assets (rated at least ‘A1(ZA)’/ ‘A(ZA)’ or equivalent).
An increase in the WACR of the portfolio, accompanied by stability or reduction in concentration risks, could enhance the rating while mandate breaches, and/or deterioration in credit and liquidity 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).
† Through STANLIB Asset Management Limited and STANLIB Collective Investments Limited.
| NATIONAL SCALE RATINGS HISTORY | ||
| Initial rating (April 2016) | ||
| Fund rating: AA+(ZA)(f) | ||
| Rating outlook: Stable | ||
| Last rating (April 2018) | ||
| Fund rating: AA+(ZA)(f) | ||
| Rating outlook: Stable |
ANALYTICAL CONTACTS
| Primary Analyst | Committee Chairperson | |
| Nyasha Chikwengo | Matthew Pirnie | |
| Credit Analyst | Sector Head: Financial Institution Ratings | |
| (011) 784-1771 | (011) 784-1771 | |
| nyashac@gcrratinggs.com | matthewp@gcrratings.com |
APPLICABLE METHODOLOGIES AND RELATED RESEARCH
Global Master Criteria for Rating Funds and Asset Managers, updated March 2017
STANLIB CMMF Rating Report (2016-18)
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 process 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.
STANLIB Limited participated in the rating process via face-to-face management meetings 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 STANLIB Limited.
The information received from STANLIB 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 at 31 January 2019;
- 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;
- 31 December 2018 financial statements for STANLIB Corporate Money Market Fund;
- Corporate governance and enterprise risk framework; and
- Industry comparative data.
The rating above was solicited by, or on behalf of, STANLIB Limited, and therefore, GCR has been compensated for the provision of the ratings.
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. |
| Cash | Funds that can be readily spent or used to meet current obligations. |
| Compound Annual Growth Rate | The year on year percentage growth rate of an investment over a given period of time. It is found by calculating: |
| 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 Institution | An entity that focuses on dealing with financial transactions, such as investments, loans and deposits. |
| 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. |
| Institutional Investors | Financial institutions such as pension funds, asset managers and insurance companies, which invest large amounts in financial markets on behalf of their clients. |
| 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. |
| 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