Awards for Excellence 2005
JPMorgan
No other firm is as proficient in structuring innovative, complex convertible issues
The past 12 months have been very tough for the equity-linked market. In every region except Asia, volumes fell to nearly half what they were the year before. In Asia issuance fell about 25%.
Bumper opportunistic issuance in 2003 meant that there were fewer corporates seeking financing, while the strength of secondary equity markets and a decline in volatility led to a slight worsening of conditions. Other factors, such as changes in both US GAAP and the IFRS accounting standards, also put a damper on equity-linked issuance.
The year was tough for convertible bond investors too. Convertible arbitrage funds turned in some of the worst performance figures of any hedge fund strategy...
