Shadow Banking: Credit Related Hedge Funds and the Factors that Generate Abnormal Returns

Abstract

Shadow banking has come into the scope of many central banks as they try to prevent another financial crisis. The risk factors of shadow banking should include many macroeconomic factors. This paper examines the risk and return characteristics of two types of credit based hedge funds (shadow banks) over the time period 2003-2011. Distressed Lending and Credit Arbitrage funds are studied in an attempt to compare and contrast risk characteristics and gain insight into the factors that affect returns for these types of hedge funds.