Hedge funds keep traders busy, Greenwich says

Bond and derivative trading by hedge funds more than doubled in the first quarter of 2006, jumping 104% to more than $2.9 billion over the first quarter of 2005, according to an analysis by Greenwich Associates. Hedge funds controlled 58% of credit derivative trading in the first quarter, 47% of the distressed debt trading market and 45% of the trading activity in emerging market bonds. The analysis is based on data in Greenwich's latest "U.S. Fixed-Income Research Study," which culled trading volume data from 1,281 fixed-income investors, including 174 hedge funds.