| Structured Finance and Collateralized Debt Obligations: New Developments in Cash and Synthetic Securitization (Wiley Finance) | 
 enlarge | Author: Janet M. Tavakoli
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $90.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (7 reviews)
Sales Rank: 147570
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.6
ISBN: 0470288949
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.632044
EAN: 9780470288948
ASIN: 0470288949
Publication Date: September 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
Informative, acerbic and fun look at credit derivatives December 12, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I echo the praises of this book sung by previous reviewers. But I can also say in all sincerity that this is the most fun book I can ever recall reading about finance.
The book isn't an overview of the current credit crisis per se, but a detailed look at some of the building blocks that came tumbling down (as well as some that might collapse in the future, such as total-rate-of-return (TRO) swaps). It's addressed to a professional audience, so if you're shy about reading books with some equations you might not enjoy it so much. Most of these are pretty simple, though, and none involve calculus.
Still, I'd recommend that you not be put off by the quantitative bits and professional terminology. To a greater extent than most other finance books, Tavakoli uses diagrams to explain the deal structures. The pictures aren't always understandable separately from the text, but they are generally very lucid and valuable. Most importantly, interspersed with the material for practitioners are extended narrative, historical and critical passages, which will give you an insider's insights into the role human nature plays in quantitative finance. Although she's a financial professional herself, Tavakoli isn't afraid to call 'em how she sees 'em, often with a bit of appropriate cynicism, e.g. "Hedge funds have made massive leveraged credit bets, knowing that their upside is billions in fees and their downside is millions in fees" @ 430. I even laughed out loud in a couple of places, which was a personal first for a book of this genre.
Occasionally Tavakoli uses terminology that isn't explained until later (such as "value at risk" (VaR), which is mentioned @ 87 but not explained until the next chapter, @ 94ff); unfortunately, the index is an erratic aid in this situation (e.g., VaR's first entry in the index is for page 97). But these are very minor quibbles, and shouldn't discourage you from reading this terrific book.
A Must Read for Practitioners, Regulators and anyone interest in the field November 5, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Janet Tavakoli has done a great job with her latest edition of Structured Finance and CDOs. This is a must read for anyone trying to understand these markets and the human factor behind the deals that have turn sour in the recent events of the US housing and global credit crises. Great timing for a revised edition!
It is a known fact that the structured finance world has changed dramatically after the recent events but it won't cease to exist. As Ms. Tavakoli puts it, structured finance allows for the creation of synthetic deals than can and will continue to be used for valid business purposes but can also be used, and will continue to be used, as instruments to defraud investors in many instances, hence the call for regulatory bodies that can keep up with the manufacturing of complex financial structures and the way the market players interact driven by greed.
The book doesn't give the reader the answer to the current crisis but it definitely serves as a tool to understand it and craft an educated guess of how and why things happened they way they did. If you are new to the field let Ms. Tavakoli, a real and experienced practitioner, walk you through the inner workings of the industry; you won't regret it.
Complex made understandable October 9, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Janet Tavakoli in her book Structured Finance & Collateralized Debt Obligations takes an extraordinary complex subject and makes it understandable. This subject matter can be headache inducing, but Ms. Tavakoli has such a good understanding of the subject that her writing is as interesting as it is comprehensive.
The last paragraph of this book encapsulates the reason every sophisticated investor needs to fully understand the world of Structured Finance:
"The future of finance is unclear. It is not as if finance needs more regulation. Bloated and ineffective global regulatory bodies abound. What is needed is effective regulation. Until that occurs, investors will have to fend for themselves and practice the fundamentals of prudent lending and investing."
Great Read October 5, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Janet Tavakoli has done it again and provided a concise and understood work on the complex field of structured financial products. In today's world market downturn, Ms. Tavakoli continues to analyze in common sense form the credit crisis and the need for effective, though late to the game, regulation.
The Best Book on Structured Credit September 23, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is undeniably the best covering securitization structures and in particular the asset-backed (home equity) CDO's and credit-derivative-based "synthetic" securitizations that lay at the heart of the current financial crisis. Tavakoli is a long-time derivatives person and is therefore better at explaining the mechanics and manipulations of synthetics than anyone I've read.
Tavakoli is known for her dubious attitude toward some of the uses to which securitization has been put, and now she has been proven to be right. The book flows seemlessly into the volatile present, covering many of the innovations which helped accelerate the downfall of the financial system as we know it. Tavakoli is a wise guide.
In summary, I would expect this book to be of interest both to the average person who likes to read about business and economics, and also to students of finance, especially those who want to better understand the Panic of 2008.
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