The principal drivers of convertible market activity all came up for discussion – the impact of low implied volatilities on issuance and investor engagement, impediments to better deal flow, investment preferences and investor types, issuance modalities and investment strategies, and accounting issues. The detrimental impact of low volatility on convertible issuance was the logical starting point, particularly in light of the dominance of stock option arbitrageurs on the buyside. Arbitraging opt

Doug Decker - Barclays Capital Doug Decker is head of convertible bond origination and has 14 years of investment banking experience. At Barclays, his team has participated in 22 convertible transactions spanning Europe, Asia and North America. Prior to joining Barclays Capital in 2001, Decker worked at Morgan Stanley in New York where he was a vice president of convertible bond research, with responsibility for credit analysis of convertible bond issuers. Prior to this research role, he traded

IFR: What has happened to volatility and what is the future of convertible issuance in a low volatility environment? Is there any prospect of vol increasing, or are the current conditions simply a return to normality? How has the change in vol affected pricing trends? Lorraine Lodge (Nomura International): Volatility has become a four-letter word in our market. Whether you think it is an aberration or a return to normality all depends on what timeframe you look at. I mean, you could go back over