The country's largest institution, Metrobank, persuaded state-run pension fund SSS to swap its 6.3% stake in FEBTC for 5% of Metrobank.

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But if the other side of the swap is taken by a hedge fund whose finances are dependent on loans from that same bank, has risk really been transferred?

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In the meantime, it remains difficult for investors to survey a fund's exposure to both the market risk and the counterparty risk in a swap.

WSJ: Swaps Add Risk to Fund Portfolios

For example, a portfolio manager who feels that his or her fund is over-allocated to office properties and under-allocated to industrial could swap a portion of the office exposure for industrial without actually buying or selling properties.

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