Rating: 
Summary: Worthwhile but tough subject
Review: This was more difficult than I thought it would be, because several structures for each tranche are presented, and each one requires some thought. The logical layout and clear writing make it easier to take, and Tavakoli has a strong command of the topic. Best read wide awake. Comprehensive.
Rating:
Summary: Good Market Perspective
Review: To anyone who has lived through recent wave of credit downgrades and CDO tranche downgrades, Tavakoli's book gives one plenty to think about. I've had my own share of "fat-tail" events over the past twelve years while I evolved from bond trader to fixed income fund manager. The structural suggestions in this book give sound perspective on how to proceed in this market. Practitioners with rigorous experience in the markets will find value in the unconventional candor presented in this book. Tranche holders will readily agree that some CDO tranches suffered not just because of credit problems but also because interest rate and currency hedges performed poorly. The Turkey analysis is a bit spooky. The double-entendre is intentional. Tavakoli doesn't give many clues in the bibliography, but the comments on banks and her read on the instability make me feel that one paranoid reviewer is wasting time on the wrong conspiracy theory. She singles out Turkey - when everyone was telling me it was a buy last summer - and even admits to picking on them as a potentially unstable situation.
Rating:
Summary: No Secondary Market in ABS
Review: We're stuck. Maybe it is different in the United States, but we can't get data on our CMBS and whole business ABS deals. The MBS data services are mainly United States based and there is no data for Europe. When this author says that you are in trouble if you don't know what is happening with the deal cash flows, believe it. If you are looking for liquidity or transparency, you won't find it in this market, but that wasn't what the arranger told us when we bought in. We tried to sell a tranche recently, and we were told there was "no bid" because there wasn't enough pool data to price the deal. If we insisted, I'm sure we could have gotten a ridiculous bid, but we decided to hold. The trustee didn't have current data from the issuers of the underlying ABS, and what information they did have was several months old.
Rating:
Summary: Balanced View of Structured Finance Value
Review: Yes, put me down for 5 stars. It seems the reviewer below neither read this book (or any of Ms.Tavakoli's other books, since I noticed a non-substantive negative review by the same person on her other book, "Credit Derivatives") nor ever heard Ms. Tavakoli speak. I've had the opportunity to hear her speak on structured finance (twice) and read both her books. I'm also a former colleague. I like this book's forthright style. It gives important topical information, but it also clearly explains critical fundamentals of structured finance. It is in explaining the nuts and bolts that this book excels. Tavakoli explains structures that do not give fair value, but she also explains which structures provide fair value so that investors can avoid the pitfalls while enjoying the rewards. The easy to understand - yet very effective - cash flow analysis allows readers to get a clear grasp of the money flows to more easily understand the explanations of various structures. Tavakoli ranks the various structures for their relative worth, and that is the most valuable part of this book.
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