Japan funds downgraded

By Ruth Alexander Five Japan investment funds have lost their ratings from Standard & Poor's after failing to meet the quantitative screen used by the ratings group. The funds included Newton Japan, HSBC Japan Growth, Five Arrows Japan and the offshore portfolios HSBC GIF Japanese Equity fund and Newton UGF Japanese Equity. In its 2001 review of Japanese funds, both onshore and off, the research group downgraded 12 funds and upgraded only four. As first reported in Investment Week, three AAA-rated funds were downgraded. The Baillie Gifford Japanese fund has fallen to a single A rating wh...