INVESTORS ASK: IS MORGAN KEEGAN’S JIM KELSOE RESPONSIBLE FOR SUBPRIME RELATED LOSSES?
Jim Kelsoe managed the Morgan Keegan Select High Income Fund and the Regions Morgan Keegan Select Intermediate Bond Fund leading up to the subprime debacle that swept through our country in the middle of 2007.
In July, Bloomberg reported that “Kelsoe’s fund ranks last of 93 high-yield rivals and it’s the eighth-worst performer this year of more than 550 U.S.-based bond funds tracked by Bloomberg.” Bloomberg reported that Kelsoe admits to an “intoxication” with high yield funds, most of which were exposed to subprime mortgages. And July was before the fun really started.
In November, Michael Brush of MSN money noted that Kelsoe’s Regions Morgan Keegan Select High Income Fund had dropped nearly 50% in 2007. Brush wrote: “Kelsoe said that 14% of the Select High Income fund portfolio was linked to subprime mortgages. He said many debt instruments in his portfolio no longer trade.”
Although Jim Kelsoe may not be the one to blame for the subprime mortgage fallout, Regions Morgan Keegan shareholders are likely to blame him for overexposing them to securities backed by weak collateralized debts.
Read the full story:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/WhosToBlameForTheMortgageMess.aspx
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4zWcz95eTAw
