"We don't know yet which route the funds are going to take. It is possible that they'll view our proposal as too onerous," Albulescu said.
Gondor said that, if portfolio managers decide they can shift their portfolios a bit to maintain a rating, the proposed changes could affect portfolio mixes.
Roger Merritt, a managing director at Fitch Ratings, said the effect of Fitch's ratings changes were felt in a couple of ways. Fitch ended up affirming a large percentage of the ratings outstanding, but there were some instances of ratings being lowered or withdrawn, he said.
"Obviously, it's up to the fund and its board of directors to decide whether or not they want to manage to a more conservative criteria," he said. "The alternative is they elect to see their ratings change or, in some instances-and these were very limited-we did have some funds decide to no longer provide us with the information to maintain the ratings."
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