Any good books on bankruptcy investing?

CFA General
#1

When there is blood on the street, it’s time for vulture (value?) investing.

#2

http://www.amazon.com/Distressed-Debt-Analysis-Strategies-Speculative/dp/1932159185 I hear chapter 11 is good…

#3

There’s a fundamental mismatch here. If you’re asking for advice on books you should read to do this, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. Sorting out various claims, seniority, etc. is hard work and as an individual investor you have a seriously restricted set of securities you can buy (stocks and bonds only probably). You can’t really buy bankruptcy claims, leases, hard assets, bank debt, restructuring securities, etc. so you are already at a big disadvantage. You can make a ton of money doing this, but not as an individual reading books from Amazon.

#4

Agree 100% with JDV. But it’s a great book if you want to understand how the process and valuation works. Vulture Investors is also a good read on this subject. But while looking on Amazon, you might want to check out this one as well: http://www.amazon.com/Chrysler-Automotive-Genius-History-Personalities/dp/0195147057/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225472204&sr=1-1

#5

JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There’s a fundamental mismatch here. If you’re > asking for advice on books you should read to do > this, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. Sorting > out various claims, seniority, etc. is hard work > and as an individual investor you have a seriously > restricted set of securities you can buy (stocks > and bonds only probably). You can’t really buy > bankruptcy claims, leases, hard assets, bank debt, > restructuring securities, etc. so you are already > at a big disadvantage. > > You can make a ton of money doing this, but not as > an individual reading books from Amazon. Thanks for your insight, JDV, but I do want to be a professional bankruptcy investor. The question is where to start?

#6

if you have time to spare and are serious about a career in distressed, take the AIRA courses for the CIRA or CDBV. or self study for the CTP exams. whether you carry the certs after that is moot, but at least you’ll learn the stuff as a professional would.

#7

altman

#8

I’ll second daj and the distressed debt book. Get an MBA at a top school then join the TMA.

#9

Does anyone know what distressed investing life is like during the boom years I imagine work takes a hit, but then again, there will always be some good distressed opportunities in all market conditions.

#10

There’s always stuff to invest in. Airlines go bankrupt constantly. New technologies go bust (e.g., Iridium, anything related to fiber). New companies in boom times get rid of underperformers (e.g., K-Mart).

#11

You can buy trade claims as a small fry, but you need more scale to buy senior/sub/bank debt. Distressed funds are generally very labor intensive. The main action isn’t buying trade claims for 30 cents and getting 40 back; it’s in gaining enough control of a class of debt that you can drive the bankruptcy process.