Fitch Ratings has affirmed the International Scale Asset Manager Rating at ‘Highest Standards’ for J. Safra Asset Management Ltda. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.
The ‘Highest Standards’ rating for J. Safra Asset reflects Fitch’s view that the company’s investment platform and operating framework are superior relative to the standards applied by international institutional investors.
The rating affirmation of J. Safra Asset reflects its well-formalized and consistent practices for investment process, risk controls and compliance, in addition to its robust and segregated structures for fiduciary administration and custody, in line with the best practices in the market. The rating also benefits from the solid franchise of the parent, Banco Safra S.A. (Banco Safra; Issuer Default Rating [IDR] ‘BBB’/Outlook Stable), the fifth largest private financial conglomerate in Brazil, from the company’s continuous investments in technology, satisfactory distribution channels and corporate structure of the group.
J. Safra Asset’s rating applies to its Brazilian domiciled investment activities and does not include offshore, private banking, wealth management, fund of funds, real estate funds, fiduciary administration and custody operations. Those areas have their own processes and policies, which are segregated from the traditional fund management.
Fitch believes that J. Safra Asset’s main challenges are: to increase its participation in higher value added funds, in the face of stronger competition; to keep a competitive edge using a lean investment personnel structure and to sustain a consistent performance mainly in the multimarket funds class.
The ‘Highest Standards’ rating is based on the following assessments:
Company: Highest
Controls: Highest
Investments: Highest
Operations: Highest
Technology: High