The funds, the Ashton-Paulson Recovery Fund, Ashton-Paulson Event-Driven Fund and Ashton-Paulson Credit Opportunities Fund, are offered through Ashton Advisors Australia, which also acts as trustee.
The products are unregistered wholesale unit trusts that ultimately access three underlying Cayman Islands-based hedge funds, managed by United States-based Paulson & Co.
"In S&P's view, the funds offer a valid exposure to the highly regarded hedge fund led by manager John Paulson which, given the abundance of opportunity in its target markets, has the potential to continue to post strong returns," S&P said.
"However, given the local product structure, the level of clarity around the manager's processes and the potential lack of ongoing information from the investment team, S&P is unable to form a higher conviction level unless it was based on reputation alone."
