Why corporate hybrids are not all they’re dressed up to be (published 27 March 2006)

Every market participant has had something to gain from corporate hybrid securities. Bond fund managers have delighted in high yields; issuers have enjoyed cheap equity. Ratings agencies have been paid for their trouble, investment banks have pocketed juicy fees and traders have revelled in the volatility. But what seems a perfect fit might well fall apart at the seams in an unfolding credit downturn. This will either expose the defects in the market and destroy it or validate hybrids as an asset class.