Event Driven Credit Interview

Hi all,

I am a third year analyst from a restructuring advisor with upcoming interviews in even driven public credit investing. 

Any tips on how shall I prepare? More detailed discussions via PM would be amazing if somebody is willing to share their experience!

All the best and thanks in advance!

7 Comments
 

Getting prepared for bonds math stuff, capital structure analysis (fulcrum facility, seniority, security, baskets, potential leakages, liquidity), rx stuff like implementation, derivatives, supply dynamics in the wider credit industry, etc... but yeah feel like i will get crushed on the "pitch me a credit" question...

Any ideas on how to get smart on cap structure arbitrage (including equity) on a no name basis for the time being? 

 
Most Helpful

I think you should be prepared to speak about your transaction experience through the lens of the investor groups - which tranche of debt would you have invested in, strengths / weaknesses of other securities, anything in a deal that you disagreed with, etc. 

Event driven ideas in credit are not limited to distress, which you're right there isn't a lot of right now. Anything with a catalyst is fair game. Merger arb, asset sales, etc can all yield interesting evently trades in a low default environment. There are some mutual funds and other public vehicles that traffic in liquid, event driven credit. You could look through the books and see if anything sticks out for inspiration. 

For an easy way to cheat, just look for recently announced exchange offers, review the deal with a quick PF cap structure and credit metrics, and determine whether or not you'd buy + participate in exchange or hold out, if that is an option 

 

I think you hit an important point. Especially with the event-driven guys, it's important to be able to voice an opinion on things you've disagreed with on deals given it signals confidence and conviction in your thought process. Whether it's right or not, as long as you can articulate why you would've done things differently based in logic, you'll be seen as someone who could add value via critical thought. This isn't to say you should search for or create disagreements for past transactions if you don't have any, but suggesting things which could've been done differently or played out in a separate manner may be worth thinking about in your prep.

 

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