It's no secret that distressed debt is being closely studied by investors seeking to capitalize on today's down market. Loans and bonds are currently trading at deep discounts, but when it comes to buying them, timing is crucial as investors at the TMA/The Deal's Distressed Investing Conference in Las Vegas pointed out. A survey released by Debtwire on Tuesday reaffirms their point of view-- pointing out that many investors tend to believe the market bottom will occur in the first half of this year.
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In total, Debtwire queried 100 hedge funds, proprietary trading desk and other asset managers on their expectations for the North American distressed debt market in 2009.
About 33% of those interviewed believe that the best time to invest in distressed debt is basically now -- the first quarter of this year -- as President Obama's economic stimulus plan is rolled out. However, 46% of respondents felt they could wait until the second quarter before ramping up investment.
KPS Capital Partners, LP's David Shapiro, one of the panelists' at The Deal's Distressed Investing Conference agrees. In this video Shapiro says 2009 and 2010 will be the busiest years for distressed investing and outlined his firm's strategy.
