Fund providers critical of S&P's rating service

A confidential report from Standard & Poor's shows while intermediaries are largely positive about the ratings service, some question its independence. They also find it hard to understand S&P's decision-making on fund ratings, in particular the difference between A, AA and AAA status. The document, obtained by Investment Week, contains notes from interviews with advisers and fund providers. It refers frequently to Forsyth/Old Broad Street Research, a rival ratings agency, which a number of those interviewed see as S&P's main competitor. FT Fund Ratings, one fund group concludes, is lik...