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Author Dominique Mielle: Damsel in Distressed

Author Dominique Mielle: Damsel in Distressed

Frederik Journals

November 3, 202156m 20s

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Show Notes

Dominique Mielle was a partner and senior portfolio manager at Canyon Capital, a $25 billion fund, where she worked for twenty years. In this episode we discussed her career in the world of distressed investing, her book, and the hedge fund industry in general.



  • 3:00: The WorldCom bond trade.

  • 6:30: Dealing with a losing investment.

  • 9:00: Importance of expertise and networks in distressed investing. Distressed investing as a game of chess.

  • 11:40: Distressed investing as an apprenticeship business.

  • 14:15: Generalist vs. sector specialist model.

  • 17:30: Hertz bankruptcy.

  • 20:40: Airline bankruptcy investing and Equipment Trust Certificates.

  • 28:00: How distressed investing changed over the past decades.

  • 32:00: Navigating the financial crisis in 2008

  • 35:00: Mental resilience and losses.

  • 38:00: Losses are unavoidable.

  • 39:20: The business of investing: building a CLO business, raising capital.

  • 40:59: Pitching, fundraising.

  • 45:00: Women in hedge funds. “In 20 years, I only met one other female partner who was doing distressed. And she's a friend of mine.”

  • 48:30: Implications of hedge funds as a mature industry.

  • 51:25: Pitching and communicating ideas.

  • 53:45: Managing a team of analysts.



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