Hedge Funds to Help Prevent a Market Implosion

Alphaville

has been looking at the latest hedge-fund inflow numbers: investors poured $60

billion into the asset class just in the first three months of this year. That

compares to $126.5 billion in all of 2005, which was itself a record. But are

the record inflows a sign that the world’s most sophisticated investors are

worried about a market crash?

One mildly ominous sign for the market at large – there’s more money

being bet on increasing numbers of companies hitting trouble. Funds which

deal in the securities of distressed companies saw inflows of $7.5bn during

the quarter – an increase of 10.7 per cent in the total assets devoted to

that strategy.

I find that news more reassuring than ominous. The more money there is in distressed-asset

funds, the less far those assets fall before they’re snapped up by those selfsame

funds. Once upon a time, distressed debt was debt which was trading at 10 or

20 cents on the dollar; today, it’s debt trading at 80 or 90 or even sometimes

95 cents on the dollar. Distressed-asset funds reduce market volatility, and

act as an all-important source of bids when most investors want to sell. Hedge

funds aren’t always a source of risk and volatility, you know.

This entry was posted in hedge funds. Bookmark the permalink.