Fitch Affirms JP Morgan Prime Money Market Fund at 'AAA/V1+'.

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings affirms the 'AAA/V1+' ratings assigned to JP Morgan Prime Money Market Fund, a money market fund managed by JP Morgan Investment Management, Inc. (JPMIM). The affirmation is a result of Fitch's annual review of the fund and is based on the high credit quality of the funds' assets and the capabilities of JPMIM as investment advisor. As of Jan. 7, 2009, the portfolio had approximately $150.4 billion in total assets under management.

The JP Morgan Prime Money Market Fund aims to provide the highest possible level of current income while still maintaining liquidity and preserving capital. As of Jan. 7, 2009, the fund was the world's largest money market fund and benefited from high levels of overnight and one-month asset maturities in order to accommodate substantial asset flow. As of the same date, 32% of total assets were invested in bank certificates of deposit, 28% were in commercial paper, both asset-backed (ABCP) and unsecured, 21% were in time deposits, 8% were in securities issued by U.S. government agencies, 6% were in overnight repurchase agreements and 5% were in corporate notes.

The fund invests in ABCP programs sponsored by large money center banks as well as non-banking organizations. Eligible ABCP programs include conduits backed by pools of receivables as well as high quality debt securities and hybrid programs. In addition to liquidity support facilities associated with such ABCP conduits, the portfolios benefit, albeit on a temporary basis, from the liquidity afforded to ABCP programs under the terms of the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Fund Liquidity Facility.

The fund maintains a high credit quality by investing in securities rated at least 'A/F1' by Fitch or being of a comparable credit quality by other global rating agencies. In addition, the fund continues to participate in the U.S. Treasury Department's Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds. Under the term of the program, only shareholders on records as of the close of business as of Sept. 19, 2008 may benefit from such guarantee to receive $1.00 for each share held in the fund on that day. As of Jan. 7, 2009 the fund portfolio's weighted-average maturity was 46 days.

JPMIM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (rated 'AA-/F1+' by Fitch). The firm manages assets on behalf of institutions and individuals worldwide through a variety of equity, fixed income, cash management and alternative investment products. Fitch views JPMIM's investment advisory capabilities, resource commitment, operational controls, corporate governance, and compliance procedures as consistent with the rating assigned to the fund.

Fitch will publish the fund's credit profile on its website www.fitchratings.com in the near future.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.