Defaults by stealth are rare: Marty Fridson column

Out-of-the-blue events like Enron and WorldCom are the ones that investors fear the most, but wholly unforeseen blow-ups among high yield companies are very unusual.

marty-fridson-gray
Martin Fridson

On September 30, 2009, the Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index contained bonds of 854 different companies. Over the next 12 months, 25 of those companies defaulted, equivalent to a default rate of 2.93%, considerably below the 4.8% average rate reported by Moody’s since 1983.

Given the US economy’s continuing difficulties, the below-average default rate has surprised many investors. They might have found the answer to another question even more surprising: how many of the 25 defaulting

Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.

To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@risk.net or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.risk.net/subscribe

You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.

Sorry, our subscription options are not loading right now

Please try again later. Get in touch with our customer services team if this issue persists.

New to Risk.net? View our subscription options

Most read articles loading...

You need to sign in to use this feature. If you don’t have a Risk.net account, please register for a trial.

Sign in
You are currently on corporate access.

To use this feature you will need an individual account. If you have one already please sign in.

Sign in.

Alternatively you can request an individual account here