The article explores how credit default swaps (CDS) shift investors' exposure to credit risk. By analyzing data on debt and CDS holdings, the researchers found that CDS help spread out risk, with hedgers balancing their concentrated exposures and speculators using CDS instead of debt. Speculators also use CDS to chase higher returns, even within the same credit rating. However, this increased risk-taking doesn't necessarily lead to more diverse returns in investment portfolios.