Structured Finance and Collateralized Debt Obligations: New Developments in Cash and Synthetic Securitization - Hardcover

Tavakoli, Janet M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470288949 ISBN 13: 9780470288948

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2008

Synopsis

An up-to-date look at the exploding CDO and structured credit products market

In this fully updated Second Edition, financial expert Janet Tavakoli provides readers with a comprehensive look at the CDO and structured credit products market amid recent developments. In addition to a detailed overview of the market, this book presents key issues in valuing structured financial products and important quality control issues. Tavakoli shares her experiences in this field, as she examines important securitization topics, including the huge increase in CDO arbitrage created by synthetics, the tranches most at risk from new technology, dumping securitizations on bank balance sheets, the abuse of offshore vehicles by companies, the role of hedge funds, critical issues with subprime, Alt-A, and prime mortgage securitizations, and securitizations made possible by new securitization techniques and the Euro. While providing an overview of the market and its dynamic growth, Tavakoli takes the time to explore the types of products now offered, new hedging techniques, and valuation and risk/return issues associated with investment in CDOs and synthetic CDOs.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

The structured finance landscape has changed radically in the last several years, especially when it comes to collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). New technologies, tools, and products have opened the door to many profitable opportunities within this market, and an equal number of debacles have arisen due to misunderstandings, misuse, and outright fraud. In order to achieve success and use structured technology in a beneficial fashionâ??as well as avoid potential pitfallsâ??you need to gain a firm understanding of how to operate within such a dynamic environment.

That's why financial expert Janet Tavakoli has created Structured Finance and Collateralized Debt Obligations, Second Edition. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this updated guide provides you with everything you need to value structured financial products. Incorporating a comprehensive overview of the CDO market and the elements of structured finance amid recent developments, Tavakoli provides the substance necessary to evaluate structured productsâ??while making clear that mechanical models most often used by institutions and professionals have critical shortcomings. The models, she asserts, will inevitably fail if one does not understand how to evaluate fundamental value and handle quality control.

Chapter by chapter, Tavakoli shares her extensive experiences in this field, as she explores important securitization topics, including cash versus synthetic arbitrage CDOs; recent changes in the CDS market posed by CDSs on asset-backed securities (CDSs of ABS); synthetic indexes; subprime and Alt-A securitization; the role of hedge funds in this arena; securitizations made possible by the emergence of the Euro; and much more.

Along the way, Tavakoli takes the time to detail the different types of products now available, highlight new hedging techniques, and outline various valuation and risk/return issues associated with investing in CDOs and synthetic CDOs. She also looks at some instances of fraud and what can be done to recognize and remedy such situations, and focuses on some gray areas of opportunity presented by today's structured products.

Written with the serious financial professional in mind, Structured Finance and Collateralized Debt Obligations, Second Edition skillfully puts this discipline in perspective. It sheds much-needed light on how existing structuring technology has benefited new markets and has the potential to create even better productsâ??and it provides a clearer understanding of these products so that you can confidently participate in this market and make more-informed decisions within it.

From the Back Cover:

Praise for Structured Finance & Collateralized Debt Obligations Second Edition

"Janet Tavakoli warned the world this disaster was coming well in advance. Now she explains it again for those who did not listen before as well as why it is not over yet. You need to read this book to understand the biggest credit bubble in world history."
—Jim Rogers, author of A Bull in China, Hot Commodities, Adventure Capitalist, and Investment Biker

"Janet Tavakoli's new book provides an insider view into the opaque world of structured finance and collateralized debt obligations. With its clear explanations of numerous structured-finance innovations, I expect this book to become the 'Rosetta Stone' for deciphering these markets. This book is a service to the investment community."
—Hilary Till, Cofounder, Premia Capital Management, LLC

"Janet Tavakoli explains the complex world of structured finance with unusual flair and colorful anecdotes from securitization's front lines. An indispensable and up-to-date guide for anyone seeking greater understanding of the CDO market."
—Charles C. Henneman, CFA, Head, Educational Programs and Events, CFA Institute

"Janet Tavakoli has been able to dissect, with a brisk style, the intricacies of many structured products. Not only does she explain in a clear and insightful manner how certain things work, but more important, why others do not work!"
—Arturo Cifuentes, PhD, Managing Director, R.W. Pressprich & Co.

"Stan O'Neal, Marcus Ospel, and more than a few other bold-face names in finance might still have jobs if they'd taken the trouble to read this book. Janet Tavakoli takes the complexities of today's derivatives markets and makes them both comprehensible and digestible for everybody from the practitioner to the interested observer."
—Greg Newton, Founding Publisher, MAR/Hedge

"Janet Tavakoli is exceptional in having worked extensively both in mortgage securitization and structured credit at major financial institutions. In this clearly written book, she shares her in-depth knowledge of structuring, valuation, and risk management of structured products. This book is a must read for regulators and risk managers to keep up with the latest developments in structured finance."
—Joseph Masri, PhD, Barclays Global Investors, Regional Director, Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA)

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0470288949
• ISBN 13: 9780470288948
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 453