NEW YORK & LONDON - (Business Wire) With the current CDO asset manager landscape in the middle of unprecedented stress and more companies exiting the sector in the last year, managers are focusing on heightened surveillance, focus on risk management, developing new product lines and ensuring that the financial means and infrastructure are in place to support business continuity, according to Fitch Ratings in a new report.
Although manager consolidation as begun, the magnitude of managers exiting the business has yet to be fully realized. In light of this sea change, CDO asset managers are adapting to changing market conditions in a variety of ways to maintain stable funding sources, investor bases, product performance, and raising new capital. Longevity in the CDO management business, or alternative forms of structured product management that may evolve, will continue to rely on their core investment processes and asset type expertise.
Market instability and a focus on potential manager impairment have heightened the need to know in terms of how asset managers are coping with challenges of the current market environment. Fitch's report also highlights key areas of focus in differentiating among CDO asset managers' ability and willingness to continue to meet their portfolio management obligations.
'CDO Asset Manager Trends: Commitment to Business and Related Staffing Needs' is available on the Fitch Ratings web site at www.fitchratings.com under the following headers:
Financial Institutions > Fund & Asset Manager Ratings > Special Reports
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.
Fitch Ratings
Lauren Keiper, +1-212-908-0268 (New York)
Russ Thomas, +1-312-368-3189 (Chicago)
Manuel Arrive, CFA, +44 20 7682 7499 (London)
Sandro Scenga, +1-212-908-0278
(Media Relations, New York)
Hannah Warrington, +44 (0) 207 417 6298
(Media Relations, London)
