Investors have long known that if something is unloved, there might just be an opportunity. At the moment there is not much around that is less loved than complex and illiquid credit. Synonymous with the credit crisis, banks are poised to shovel these supposedly toxic securities out of the door because of new regulations that encourage the raising of capital and the shrinking of balance sheets.

Increasing numbers of specialist asset managers are stepping in to buy these securities from banks and other intermediaries, believing they can extract a premium from what they call "opportunistic credit" transactions. They remain in a minority because other investors have insufficient expertise or lack of access to stable capital.