Following a change to its rating methodology for global asset managers, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its credit ratings for a couple of Canadian firms.
S&P announced that it has reviewed its ratings on 37 global asset managers by applying its new ratings criteria for the sector. And, as a result of the review, it has taken rating actions on a number of these firms. The rating actions are based on revisions to its criteria, rather than any change in the issuers’ creditworthiness.
Among the firms affected by the review are Canada’s CI Financial Corp. (TSX:CIX) and IGM Financial Inc. (TSX:IGM) For instance, CI’s issuer rating has been revised from BBB+ to A-; and, IGM’s issuer rating goes from A+ to A. The rating agency says that it will publish detailed rating updates within 30 days. For now, it is just publishing the revised ratings.
S&P revised the rating criteria for the sector earlier this week, saying that the updated criteria should help investors understand the key factors it considers in rating asset managers. That methodology follows a similar framework to the one it uses for corporations. Its assessments reflects the companies’ business risk profiles, their financial risk profiles, and other factors that may modify the stand-alone credit profile.