Survey of Credit Rating Methodologies of Mutual Funds: Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s

Credit rating literature attracted attention of academics since the subprime crisis 2008. In the wake of the crisis hundred billion dollars’ worth securities that were awarded AAA rating by the world’s leading credit rating agencies downgraded to junk. So is the survey on credit rating methodology. This work intends to survey the methodologies Moody’s and S&P follow in assessing the performance of equity funds and debt funds. The authors conclude that in these rating methodologies of S&P and Moody’s the link between equity fund and debt fund, i.e. how downgrade of debt fund can lead to downgrade of equity fund is not captured. Secondly Moody’s shakes off or manages the risk of loss of goodwill in the wake of failure of short term debt fund rating in the case of certain systemic factors like suspending or discouraging withdrawals and redemptions, by prescribing automatic downgrade to junk.