Swip cautious on HY debt

Group's Neil Murray expecting default rates to pick up

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (Swip) has retained a wary stance on high-yield bonds and expects default rates to pick up. Neil Murray, head of credit at the group, said the big problem with many high-yield issues over the last few years was that they have involved a lot of leverage, and there have been very few protective covenants put in place. Speaking at the recent Investment Update Roadshow, Murray said this had made him nervous despite the seemingly attractive yields on offer and the rally in the weeks following Bear Stearns. He added default rates are set to rise from a...