2 ms·
I've definitely heard the broader use, but I suspect it partly stems from the fuzziness of "owes". If my mortgage exceeds the value of my house, I'm definitely
by Bartweiss 7y ago
I've definitely heard the broader use, but I suspect it partly stems from the fuzziness of "owes". If my mortgage exceeds the value of my house, I'm definitely underwater. But if my pension fund owns a ton of CDOs on bad mortgages and can't make payments, it's sorta-kinda underwater too. Broaden things even more, and any institutional investor promising returns can be 'underwater' on a bad investment.
- SilasX 7y agoHm, I could maybe understand if a hedge fund (or other investment firm) were operating on a "high watermark" standard (i.e. they have to get the fund's holdings past their previous all-time-high to get paid at all), then I could accept them being "underwater" in that sense.