Securities lending by investment funds has reached its highest level in a decade, as demand for corporate bonds surged more than 30 percent over the past 18 months, Reuters reported. Global money managers generated nearly $6 billion in revenue during the first half of the year, loaning out stocks and bonds that often land in the hands of short-sellers such as hedge funds. It was the best performance since the start of the global financial crisis in 2008 and current volatility trends are expected to keep the upswing going, according to research firm IHS Markit. New regulatory disclosure rules that took effect last year and fresh academic research show, however, that there can be a bigger downside to securities lending than previously thought. For one, mutual funds may overweight high-demand stocks and bonds because they generate higher fees from short-selling hedge funds. Securities lending, especially for money managers keeping a bigger portion of the fees from fund investors, could distort stock-picking behavior and hurt performance, said Travis Johnson, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
