As analysts on the sell-side and at ratings agencies have been caught off guard by troubles at companies such as Enron, Tyco International and Adelphia, buy-siders say they are taking matters into their own hands. The buy-siders say they are increasingly exploring alternative means of gathering credit information in a climate where each week seems to bring a different company with an off-balance sheet skeleton in its closet.
Ron Bringewatt, high-yield portfolio manager at TimesSquare Capital Management, says analysts at his firm are spending more time talking with industry consultants and checking company statements against information they receive from third parties. "If a company says it has 40% market share, we'll call the customers, call the suppliers, and see what they say. We've really got to look under rocks."
Alliance Capital was able to get early warning signals about a troubled retailer by learning that it was not honoring contracts with its vendors, says Andy Aran, the money manager's global head of credit research. He declined to name the credit.
But, both Bringewatt and Aran concede that such investigative work is time-consuming and say it would essentially be impossible to verify every claim made by every company in their portfolios.