Fitch Ratings has placed Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC and on Rating WatchNegative, writing that the companies could suffer reputational damage as aresult of the recently settled bribery investigations by the and .

Fitch Ratings has a "BBB-" long-term issuerdefault rating on Och-Ziff Capital Management and its subsidiaries, OZManagement, OZ Advisors LP, OZ Advisors II LP and Och-Ziff Finance Co. LLC.

Legal fees should decrease now that the company has reachedsettlements, the rating agency noted, but AUM outflows resulting from theinvestigations could pressure the company's management fees and harm its cashflow leverage.

The negative watch could be revised back to a less-severenegative outlook if Och-Ziff's AUM outflows, fundraising capabilities andfranchise damage "are deemed to be manageable," Fitch wrote.Stabilization or growth in AUM would be needed for a stable outlook, the agencyadded.