Standard & Poor’s reinstate ratings
By Zoe Fielding
Standard& Poor’s has reinstated the ratings on AMP Capital Investors’ (AMPCI) Future Directions Funds (FDF), as well as Rubicon’s Asian and global equities funds.
Five of AMPCI’s Future Directions bond funds were placed on hold in January pending investment structure changes, while six of Rubicon’s funds were placed on hold in September 2004 following resignations of key staff.
AMPCI has now finalised the appointment of four new managers — GoldmanSachs Asset Management, Hyperion Capital Management, Wellington Management Company and Credit Agricole — to handle its international bond fund. The fund was previously managed in-house.
Similarly, about one third of the company’s Australian bond fund, which AMPCI had previously managed internally, has been outsourced to various managers.
Standard & Poor’s fund analyst Greg Hogan said the FDFs had been assigned a competent rating.
Rubicon’s global equities sector was also assigned a competent rating, while the Asian equities sector was rated as strong.
“[The Asia fund] now uses the short selling of stocks, primarily in Japan and South Korea where stock lending facilities exist, to take full advantage of the stock selection capabilities of the newly combined Perennial Asian and Japanese equities team,” he said.
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