 | PARIS (Standard & Poor's) Jan. 21, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
said today that it affirmed its highest principal stability fund rating of
'AAAm' on DWS Government Liquidity Fund, a Luxembourg-domiciled "Fonds Commun
de Placement" (FCP) managed by DWS Investment S.A.
This 'AAAm' rated money market fund, which was previously called DWS Cash
EUR, was renamed DWS Government Liquidity Fund on Jan. 20, 2009. At the same
time, the fund changed its investment policy, restricting its investments
going forward primarily to euro-denominated securities issued by EU or
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development governments, held
directly or through repurchase agreements. Nongovernment exposure is limited
to cash and short-dated time deposits. The fund continues to exhibit strong
credit quality standards by investing all assets in securities, or with
counterparties, rated at least 'A-1' by Standard & Poor's. To enhance the
portfolios' liquidity and diminish sensitivity to changing interest rates, the
fund will maintain a weighted average maturity of 60 days or less. Despite the
changes, the fund will continue to adhere to the 'AAAm' principal stability
fund rating requirements.
The rating affirmation is based on Standard & Poor's analysis of the
fund's credit quality, liquidity, market price exposure, and management and
also reflects our review of the fund's new investment policy.
The fund's sponsor, DWS Investment S.A. (not rated), has restructured the
fund to further enhance its offering to institutional, corporate, and retail
clients, seeking a more conservative alternative to traditional money market
funds. DWS Government Liquidity Fund aims to achieve a constantly rising daily
net asset value, expressed in euros, consistent with the preservation of
capital and a high level of liquidity.
The 'AAAm' principal stability fund rating reflects the fund's extremely
strong capacity to maintain principal stability and to limit exposure to
principal losses due to credit, market, and/or liquidity risks.
The fund sponsor, investment adviser, and administrator, DWS Investments
S.A., is a division of Deutsche Asset Management, which is itself a subsidiary
of Deutsche Bank AG (A+/Stable/A-1). DWS Investment S.A. delegates the fund's
day-to-day management to an experienced team of investment professionals at
Frankfurt-based DWS Investment GmbH. The investment team is responsible for
managing approximately €25 billion of money market assets and operates under
conservative investment practices and strict internal controls to meet the
fund's objectives.
State Street Luxembourg S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of State Street
Bank and Trust Co., Boston, MA (AA-/Negative/A-1+), provides custody services
to the fund.
Standard & Poor's assigns its principal stability fund ratings,
identifiable by the 'm' suffix, to funds or pools that exhibit stable net
asset values. Those funds rated 'AAAm' exhibit a superior ability to limit
exposure to loss, and maintain a constant or rising net asset value per share
at all times.
Standard & Poor's reviews pertinent fund information and portfolio
reports weekly as part of its surveillance process.
Ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the
real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and
risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. It can also be found on Standard &
Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; select your preferred
country or region, then Ratings in the left navigation bar, followed by Find a
Rating. Alternatively, call one of the following Standard & Poor's numbers:
Client Support Europe (44) 20-7176-7176; London Press Office (44)
20-7176-3605; Paris (33) 1-4420-6708; Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-225; Stockholm
(46) 8-440-5914; or Moscow (7) 495-783-4017.
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