AMP and AXA funds deemed ‘fallen angels’
Four equity funds from AMP, AXA and Clime were placed in the ‘fallen angels’ category by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) fund rating trends summary for the first half of 2010.
The report, titled Rising Stars and Fallen Angels, defined AXA Wholesale Australian Equity Growth Fund and AMP’s Capital Australian Small Companies Fund as funds at risk of being removed from approved product lists.
At the same time, funds from Aberdeen, Advance, Hunter and MLC appear to be doing well, as they have been placed in the ‘rising stars’ category.
S&P describes ‘rising stars’ as three-star and higher rated funds, which wealth management groups and platforms typically consider ‘investment quality’.
S&P’s head of fund research, Leanne Milton, said the rating sentiment was largely positive for the first half of the year.
“In [the second quarter], we affirmed more fund ratings, the ratio of upgrades outpaced downgrades, and we assigned four-star ratings to 59 per cent of new funds assessed,” Milton said.
“The only counterpoint to this positive momentum was the significant increase in ‘on hold’ ratings in the second quarter, driven by personnel changes within investment teams,” she added.
S&P has placed a total of 26 funds on hold in the first half of 2010, most of which are Australian and international equities.
Fund ratings house also took a total of 242 rating actions in the same period, affecting $80.6 billion of funds under management in retail managed investment schemes.
Recommended for you
Net cash flow on AMP’s platforms saw a substantial jump in the last quarter to $740 million, while its new digital advice offering boosted flows to superannuation and investment.
Insignia Financial has provided an update on the status of its private equity bidders as an initial six-week due diligence period comes to an end.
A judge has detailed how individuals lent as much as $1.1 million each to former financial adviser Anthony Del Vecchio, only learning when they contacted his employer that nothing had ever been invested.
Having rejected the possibility of an IPO, Mason Stevens’ CEO details why the wealth platform went down the PE route and how it intends to accelerate its growth ambitions in financial advice.
