...Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' ratings on Clipper Acquisitions Corp. are based on the company's solid franchise (especially in U.S. fixed-income investment management), good distribution capability, experienced management team, and strong investment performance track record in fixed-income strategies. Clipper was a newly formed entity that was acquired by the Carlyle Group and the management of The TCW Group in February 2013. Clipper owns 100% of TCW Group Inc. In our view, the significant management ownership of Clipper is also a positive rating factor. However, several factors offset these strengths. For example, TCW has a significant proportion of its assets under management (AUM) in fixed-income securities, which makes the company more sensitive to changes in the demand for fixed-income assets. In addition, its debt leverage (at 2.5x for the 12 months ended June 30, 2014), although improving, is considerable. Nonetheless, the company's debt leverage is in-line with our '##+' rating....
