Fitch Agency keeps unchanged Morocco’s money market fund ratings

The new Moroccan fund regulation is expected to be credit neutral to Fitch-rated Moroccan Money Market Fund (MMF) ratings, the global ranting agency says in a press release.

On 21 October 2025, Morocco’s Chamber of Representatives adopted Project/Law No. 03.25, a reform of the regulatory framework for collective investment undertakings in transferable securities (OPCVMs).

The reform’s objective is to strengthen investor protection, enhance market transparency and increase the openness of the Moroccan fund industry. The legislation will allow the introduction of new share classes within the funds and new financial products such as Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and foreign-currency-denominated funds.

Fitch does not expect these changes to have a material impact on the ratings of rated MMFs. The measures are intended to improve investor safeguards and may support further growth in assets under management (AUM) across the market and Fitch-rated funds, including increased inflows from retail and international investors. Fitch currently rates five MMFs under the national scale, all of which are rated ‘AAAmmf (mar)’.

The law also strengthens the enforcement powers of the regulator, the Autorité Marocaine du Marché des Capitaux (AMMC), which covers fund-related entities, including asset managers and depositaries. The reform changes governance and regulatory oversight.

Asset managers are required to secure approval from the AMMC, regularly update and disclose risk, valuation, and liquidity policies, and communicate these to investors. The AMMC is granted additional sanction powers, including the authority to withdraw approvals for non-compliance.

Following parliamentary approval, publication in the Official Bulletin will trigger a mandatory compliance window, requiring existing OPCVM managers to align with the new regulations within six months of its entry into force.

The agency assigns National Scale Investment Manager Qualitative Ratings (IMQR) to investment managers, operating in countries where, for some rating factors, a comparison with international standards may not be applicable due to certain accepted, generally less stringent, local market practices.

Fitch currently rates seven managers under the Moroccan national scale, covering 70% of the total industry as of end-September 2025. Fitch expects all Moroccan rated managers to adhere to the new market practices within the prescribed regulatory timeline.

Fitch will continue to monitor the regulatory transition and the impact on rated managers under its national IMQR criteria. The pillars of the IMQR criteria include investment process, investment resources, risk management, company and client servicing and investment performance.

As of end-September 2025, industry Assets Under Management (AUM) totalled MAD 789.8 billion, up 21% from end-2024. The assets are split between equity, bonds, money market funds, diversified and contractual funds. Bond funds account for the largest share at 75%, including MMFs, which are 14% of total assets. Current allocation could vary with the introduction of new asset types and investors.