The world’s most powerful financial policymakers have singled out a group of hedge funds as a potential source of instability for financial markets, in a marked escalation of existing concerns about the impact of their bets on bonds.
The Financial Stability Board, comprised of the world’s top finance ministers, central bankers and regulators, on Wednesday warned that part of the hedge fund industry had “high synthetic leverage in general”.
The role played by hedge funds and other financial institutions such as asset managers and pension funds in bond markets has come under increased scrutiny since March 2020, when US government bond yields dramatically increased as demand evaporated.