Distressed Debt Investors Club

As some of you are aware, one of the reasons for the lack of posting in the last month (despite the dearth of solid investment opportunities) is that I have been working on a side project related to the site; more specifically related to Distressed Debt. Since the information seems to be spreading (I am getting requests about it), I might as well go ahead and discuss it in a public forum.

Many of us are either Value Investor Club Members or SumZero members (and some both). Both sites are incredible. That being said, they both have their advantages and disadvantages. But overall, they are fantastic resources.

In my opinion though, a member contributed site, in a similar vein to VIC or SumZero, focused on credit, distressed, and fixed income special situation opportunities (make whole take-outs, CDS arbitrage, fixed income arb, etc) would be incredibly beneficial to its members.

So that is what I have been working on. And here is a little FAQ I put together:

Is that all you can tell us? - No. Here are a few more salient points:

• The site will be set up very similar to VIC. 250 members with real time access, guests will have read-only access on a 60 day delay window. Members will be asked to contribute, like VIC, 2 credit related posts per year. Again like VIC, but unlike SumZero, (and because I love anonymity), we will be using aliases instead of our real names - so members do not have to worry about posting their fund information or their real identities. There will be more details in the coming months.

How can I become a member? - Potential members will be asked to write a 2-3 page write up on a credit or investment opportunity of their choosing. There will be no template for this. I hate templates and so should you. Myself, and two of my colleagues will go through each one, offer questions to each applicant, and then take it from there. In the next month or two, there will be more and more posts about all this, which leads us too...

When is this launching? - 3Q 2009. Exact date depending on beta tests and all that good stuff. Therefore, hold off on sending me anything until I ask =]

I am already a member of VIC and SumZero. Why do I need another community of hedgies talking their book? - Good question. As I mentioned earlier, this site will be credit focused (not to say that equity ideas will be forbidden...but in general I hope we are talking credit / fixed income special sits 90% of the time). I would like us to carve out a little niche here and make lots of money. Plus, given how small the site will be (I am talking about members here), it should be an incredible networking opportunity.

Further, on launching, the site will have 250 ideas (the applications) ready for all members to pounce on. If you can't find one or two ideas out of 250 to make a killing on...well you sir, are a better man that I.

Can anyone join? Theoretically yes. As long as you add LOTS of value. That being said, I have to think that their will be a heavy weighting of credit / fixed income professionals in the mix.

Where can I find out more information? You can email me or leave a comment. And stay tuned for future posts.

I'm hoping this distressed debt boondoggle gets off the ground in a timely fashion. Support, hate, or praise can be left via comments.

Thanks -

Hunter