Press Release
European Finance House Offshore Sharia Fund Assigned 'AAf/S1+' Fund Credit Quality
And Volatility Ratings
LONDON, May 4, 2010--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned
its 'AAf' fund credit quality and its 'S1+' fund volatility ratings to EFH Funds SCA
SICAV-SIF - Liquidity Subfund (the "subfund"), a Luxembourg-domiciled U.S
dollar-denominated liquidity fund, managed by European Finance House (EFH). This is
the first Standard & Poor's fund credit quality and fund volatility rating assigned
to an offshore Islamic fund.
Fund credit quality ratings generally reflect our assessment of the level of
protection against losses from credit defaults and are based on an analysis of the
credit quality of the portfolio investments and the likelihood of counterparty
defaults.
Fund volatility ratings generally reflect Standard & Poor's view of the fund's
sensitivity to interest rate movements, credit risk, investment diversification or
concentration, liquidity, leverage, and other factors.
The ratings reflect Standard & Poor's analysis of the subfund's credit quality and
investment policies, its assessment of the subfund manager's experience, and its
view of the subfund's expected sensitivity to changing market conditions, among
other factors. The 'AAf' credit quality rating reflects our assessment that the
subfund's selection of portfolio holdings and counterparties provides very strong
protection against losses from credit defaults. The 'S1+' volatility rating assigned
to the subfund reflects our assessment that we view the subfund's sensitivity to
changing market conditions as extremely low. For a Sharia fund to be eligible for a
fund credit quality rating, we look to see whether the Sharia fund has invested in
rated Islamic financial instruments that share similarities with fixed-income
securities.
The EFH Funds SCA SICAV-SIF - Liquidity Subfund is described in its offering
document as an open-ended investment company with variable capital and organized as
a Société d'Investissement A Capital Variable in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The
subfund's investment advisor has indicated to us that it intends to primarily invest
in "wakala" agreements with financial institutions
approved by the firm's Sharia Supervisory Committee.
"Wakala" agreements are typically agency contracts widely utilized by Islamic banks,
whereby the fund's depositor authorizes its agent to invest the funds in
Sharia–compliant assets. This Islamic contract is largely used in Islamic finance
between financial institutions and their clients, particularly in brokerage
services, Islamic insurance ("takaful"), and funds management as an alternative to
"mudaraba". Mudaraba are typically investment contracts whereby the investor ("rab
ul mal") provides capital to another party ("mudarib"), which provides its expertise
in order to invest in a Sharia-compliant business activity.
The subfund's investment advisor has indicated to us that it expects the subfund
("muwakkil") to invest in wakala contracts with specific Islamic financial
institutions. We understand that the Islamic financial institutions act as the agent
("wakil") of the subfund and invest a certain amount for a period of time in
exchange for an expected profit payable on a monthly basis to the subfund. We
understand that the subfund's investment advisor intends to enter into wakala
contracts of a maximum term period of one year (with a one-day call facility), with
the aim to provide daily liquidity to investors and if necessary terminate the
contract if the expected profit is lower than the one agreed at the beginning of the
transaction.
The subfund is managed by EFH, a London-based affiliate of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB),
its main shareholder. EFH benefits from its relationship with QIB to provide
financial services to clients, including asset management. We understand that the
same London-based management team will oversee the liquidity subfund's investments
while also managing EFH's Global Sukuk Plus
Fund that invests in the global sukuk market (Islamic bonds) and has approximately
$50 million assets under management.
The subfund's custody and administration services are described in the offering
document for the subfund as being provided by Luxembourg-based The Bank of New York
Mellon (Luxembourg) S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
(AA-/Stable/A-1+).
Standard & Poor's fund credit quality ratings, identified by the 'f' subscript, are
forward-looking opinions about the overall credit quality of a fixed–income fund's
portfolio. Fund credit quality ratings range from 'AAAf' (extremely strong
protection against losses from credit default) to 'CCCf'
(extremely vulnerable to losses from credit defaults). Standard & Poor's fund
volatility ratings, identified by the 'S' subscript, are forward-looking opinions
about a fixed-income fund's sensitivity to changing market conditions, relative to a
portfolio made up of government securities and
denominated in the base currency of the fund. Volatility ratings range from
'S1+'(lowest sensitivity) to 'S6' (highest sensitivity).
Standard & Poor's reviews pertinent fund information and portfolio reports on a
monthly basis as part of its surveillance process of its fund credit quality and
volatility ratings.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
*Fund Credit Quality Rating Criteria, Feb. 2, 2007
*Fund Volatility Rating Criteria, Feb. 2, 2007