Feeling's mutual: Artemis' Foster sold Co-op bonds ahead of downgrade

Artemis Strategic Bond manager James Foster has avoided taking a hit on Co-operative Bank bonds by selling his position two weeks before today's sell-off.

Moody's this morning downgraded the bank to junk, cutting its credit rating by six notches to Ba3 and warning the business may require "external support" in a bid to strengthen its capital position. That prompted both the departure of CEO Barry Tootell and a sharp sell-off in the bank's debt. Foster, who bought Co-op bonds from forced sellers last October after Standard & Poor's downgraded the debt to high yield status, exited his position at the end of April. The manager sold the bonds on concerns the Co-op's provisions for its 2009 acquisition of Britannia Building Society were n...