Investors seeking high yields have created an almost perverse problem in the bond markets.

"The public was seeking higher yields elsewhere," Mr. Frank said.

Corporate bond prices soared as investors sought higher yields than those available from Treasury issues.

Some were seeking higher yields than they were getting on short-term investments.

Q: Like many people seeking higher yields, I bought shares in a short-term bond fund last year.

Customers sought higher yields in money market funds and continued to demonstrate nervousness about the health of some particularly weak savings institutions.

Another alternative for institutional investors seeking higher yields has been mortgage-backed securities.

The decline probably indicated that a substantial number of investors had withdrawn money to seek better yields elsewhere.

Investors seeking higher yields than those available in the Treasury market might turn to the agency sector.

The brokers are concerned about those trusts that seek high yields from their portfolios, as this could affect capital performance.