Moody's rates FFI Tax-Exempt MF AAA
Moody's Investors Service assigned a `Aaa money market fund rating to FFI Institutional Tax-Exempt Fund, according to a press release. It says, "The rating reflects the high credit quality, strong liquidity profile and limited market risk exposure of the fund as well as the disciplined investment process and effective risk management structure of the advisor. In addition, the fund benefits from the adviser's strong research process where investment decisions are governed by credit quality and liquidity management considerations." The release continues, "The fund, launched in January 2002, is organized in master feeder structure and seeks current income exempt from federal income taxes while preserving capital and liquidity. Moody's anticipates that market risk will be mitigated by the fact that the investment adviser will maintain the weighted average credit quality of the fund in line with its expectations for Aaa-rated money market funds. The fund exhibits strong levels of liquidity, with over 73% of the securities either maturing or may be put back to a liquidity provider within seven days as of May 31, 2010. We expect that the advisor will manage and monitor its liquidity profile actively relative to the portfolio shareholder base and the fund will continue to be the sole feeder to the master portfolio.... The fund's shareholder base exhibits some concentration in terms of a single strategic, omnibus account relationship, which is partially offset by underlying granularity of shareholders. This reduces the likelihood of material unexpected redemptions. The relatively short credit WAM of the fund, 21 days as of end-May 2010, are indicative of its relatively limited exposure to market risk."
