It’s mid-November, but for investors who trade in the debt of distressed companies, the year’s already done -- and they lost.

Hedge-fund managers, a group of investors who lost faith in small-cap stocks last year just before they plunged, are now shedding their bearish bets prior to first-quarter earnings.

International investors say the euro area’s economy is in its worst shape in more than a year and in danger of dropping into deflation, with a central bank that many believe is not doing enough to help, according to a Bloomberg Global Poll.

Hedge funds, whose bearish bets on stocks have held their returns to half the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in 2013, pushed short sales close to the highest level of the year just as the U.S. budget impasse spurred a doubling in volatility.

When Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed in 2008, many investors made panicked calls to their financial advisers. Now that stocks have climbed, you may feel less need to raise questions. But this is no time for complacency. In good and bad times, you should maintain a dialogue with your wealth manager. Here are some questions to ask:

Subprime mortgages may have been the most lucrative bet of 2012 for hedge funds, with some gaining more than 20% by buying up troubled financial crisis era mortgages.