Washington Square Investment Management, a collateralized debt obligation manager, has sold credit-default protection on a string of high-yield names. The five-year swaps are referenced to names in the iTraxx Crossover index. Miguel Ramos, managing partner in London, said the deals take advantage of recent spread widening in the index, which saw some names blow out by more than 100 basis points.
Ahold and Eircom were two of the CDS the firm traded, according to Ramos, who said it received premiums of between 250 to 280bps for each trade. "We felt comfortable doing these trades because we had already heavily researched the names and were ready to take them on in a medium-term view," he added.
Ramos declined to name counterparties, but said careful consideration had been given on selection because the difference in premium prices was surprising.
