In Japan in the late 1990s they were called hagetako fando (“vulture funds”). In Germany a few years ago they were dubbed “locusts”. Now, as policymakers and regulators restructure the financial system, distressed debt investors – as they prefer to be known – are circling again looking for opportunities.
The collapse of Lehman Brothers a year ago triggered what may become the most fruitful cycle ever for funds that survived the market turmoil that followed.
