... combination of factors: ease and documentation of the methodology, quality and user-friendliness of the software, the reputation of the RiskMetrics Group and familiarity with some of its other products, ... assets are held in risk- less cash until the end of the horizon. In these cases, the risk of the short maturity asset is lower than the risk of a longer-term position in the same obligor, and ... general recovery of downgraded bonds after the initial sell-off. A further argument is that, even if the bulk of the distribution appears normal, the returns in the tail of the distribution,...