Moody's Rates HSBC AUD AAA
A release entitled, "Moody's Assigns Aaa-mf Rating to HSBC Australian Dollar Liquidity Fund," tells us, "Moody's Investors Service ... has today assigned a Aaa-mf rating to HSBC Australian Dollar Liquidity Fund (a sub-fund of HSBC Global Liquidity Funds PLC), a soon-to-be launched prime constant net asset value money market fund domiciled in Ireland managed by HSBC Global Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited.... The rating reflects Moody's view that the Fund will have a very strong ability to meet the dual objectives of providing liquidity and preserving capital. This view is supported by the portfolio's very high scores for each of the key rating factors, including credit quality, asset profile, liquidity and exposure to market risk. The analysis was performed on a model portfolio provided by the fund sponsor. The rating agency expects the Fund to be managed in line with the model portfolio. However, Moody's noted that if the Fund's investment portfolio deviates materially from the model portfolio, the Fund's rating could be changed." Moody's adds, "We expect the investments held in the Fund will be of high credit quality as they must be rated P-1 at the time of purchase. The Fund's assets are expected to be primarily invested in short-dated commercial paper and deposit securities as well as short-dated bonds from government, agency, corporate and financial issuers. The rating also benefits from the expectation that the Fund will maintain a short weighted average maturity (WAM) in line with a score of '1' and an asset concentration below 30%, which results in a score of '2' for this factor. While the Fund's shareholder base is likely to exhibit some higher shareholder concentrations until the Fund grows, our expectation is that the Fund will maintain a strong liquidity profile supported by high levels of overnight and near-term liquidity in the portfolio. Overnight liquidity will typically be in the form of overnight deposits and securities with one business day to maturity. The institutional investor base for this Fund will primarily be made of Asia-based entities from multinational corporations, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds."
