Elliott's Singer sees no safe haven in long-term bonds

Paul Singer, founder of Elliott Management, said Wednesday at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York that developed countries are facing "long-term insolvency" and that monetary stimulus is distorting the prices of long-term bonds.

"I'm not recommending short selling long-term bonds, ... but what I would say is those who own long-term bonds in the U.S., UK, Europe or Japan own assets which are trading at the wrong price," said Singer, whose hedge fund has $21 billion in assets under management.

Singer said the global financial system remains "opaque," and he blamed stimulus measures like the U.S. Federal Reserve's $85 billion in monthly bond purchases for skewing the global recovery and the pricing of long-term bonds.

"These prices are distorted," Singer said of the long-term bonds. "If you own them you should know about the distortion, and there is not a safe haven today in my view in today's markets.

"Everyone wants a safe haven. ... There is no such thing in today's markets and that's one of the sad elements of the distortion."

(Reporting by Sam Forgione and Steven C. Johnson; Additional reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Leslie Adler)