Coronavirus

There’s no shortage of Cassandras sounding the alarm over what some fear is the reckless printing of money by the Federal Reserve and other major central banks to try to shore up their economies in the face of the global pandemic, even as balance sheets and government debts continue to grow exponentially, writes Robin Blumenthal.

While 2020 has been a challenging year for many managers, a huge majority are bullish about the future of the asset class.

Fund launched after the pandemic hit will have a flexible mandate to invest in opportunities created by economic disruption.

Liability management transactions are undertaken by companies to restructure liabilities on their balance sheets. Bryan High of Barings, Mark Liscio of Freshfields and Sanjeev Khemlani of FTI Consulting explain their current popularity.

Staff at the $207.8bn system have said that distressed debt opportunities following the covid crisis could be unprecedented.

After initial coronavirus-related fallout, the asset class looks to have rosier days ahead.

Emerging and diverse managers received less than 3% of capital commitments closed in H1, raising fears they are being left behind as the pandemic changes fundraising.

The 'custom mandate' has already invested more than 25 percent of its capital and is investing across various distressed strategies.