What is Distressed Dispatch?
As should be pretty self-evident, Distressed Dispatch is a newsletter of sorts (although due to my breathless nature each dispatch will probably take around 30-60 minutes to read unless its surreptitiously skimmed).
I typically publish dispatches on the 10th, 20th, and 30th and over the months to come will put together little resources or shorter notes that'll also be available to subscribers.
The purpose of Distressed Dispatch is an extension of the work I began five years ago and is more or less an excuse to talk my book (within reason) and (perhaps) nudge a wider audience toward my views.
For various reasons, there's exceptionally little editorialized content on the most pressing themes in distressed (read: opportunistic) credit and a kind of superficiality to the coverage both behind paywalls and outside of them.
So, Distressed Dispatch is meant to counterbalance that and discuss the most controversial or important developments of the moment from a decidedly biased perspective.
In other words, Distressed Dispatch is an editorial board of one – with each dispatch reflecting my views and opinions (that some may or may not enjoy going through) not dispassionate retrospectives that seek to be the definitive account or comprehensive accounts of all that has happened in HY or distressed credit over the last ten days.
What will Distressed Dispatch cover?
As mentioned above, Distressed Dispatch will cover whatever I happen to want to write about within a given 10-day window – sometimes it'll be retrospective in nature, sometimes it'll be prospective. (When I write on things that are more retrospective in nature, it'll almost always be with a view for how a certain transaction will inform the future.)
With that said, the primary theme of Distressed Dispatch will be out-of-court transactions that have occurred or could occur in the not-too-distant future. Chances are there'll be scant in-court coverage unless what's happening in-court has significant implications for future out-of-court transactions.
And the rationale for this should be obvious enough: what's happens out-of-court matters far more than what happens in-court to anyone in an opportunistic credit seat.
To this end, one of the primary rationales behind Distressed Dispatch is to help me think through things that do (or could) matter in the future and are actionable in clear or not-so-clear ways. Thus, going through a random PoR of the umpteenth failed retailer rather negates the point of this exercise.
Is Distressed Dispatch right for me?
I have zero interest in trying to cajole anyone into signing up, and make no claims as to if Distressed Dispatch will be helpful, informative, or otherwise useful.
This is all for fun and to scratch my own itch. So, one should think of Distressed Dispatch as a (possibly) well-written and (unequivocally) verbose diary that details what I'm thinking about most at any given time.
You can poke through the archive to see the kinds of things discussed – which will evolve over time – and, of course, there's no obligation to subscribe for more than a month.
Note: There's a small-ish charge for Distressed Dispatch which is more or less a mechanism to force me to continue to write. With that said, there's only the option to subscribe on a month-to-month basis because in the future I might find this all to be too much of a time sink. (If that occurs, all subscriptions will be paused but all current subscribers will have their full allotment of dispatches and will maintain full access to the archives indefinitely.)
How long is each dispatch?
In brief, too long. Since I love to write and have a certain over-wrought style – akin to if Evelyn Waugh had a brain aneurysm that significantly reduced down his capacities – each dispatch tends to be around 6,000-10,000 words give or take a few thousand words on either side.
Thus, each dispatch will probably take 30-60min to read. While it'd no doubt make more sense to publish smaller pieces at more regular intervals, I never know when I'll have the time to write so a promise to write twice a week or whatever would undoubtably need to be broken at some point.
How do I sign-up?
You can sign-up by clicking here. After payment, you'll be signed up as a subscriber and will then be able to sign-in by clicking here to read the past archives and will then begin to receive the new dispatches.
How do I sign-in?
You can sign-in by clicking the "sign-in" button littered across this site (or click here). You'll need to use the email address that you used with your original order. After clicking "continue" on the sign-in page you'll receive an email with a one-time log-in link (for security reasons, there are no passwords used).
How do I manage my subscription?
As detailed on the "manage" page on this site, you can manage your subscription with the payment processor directly. Simply go here and then enter the email address associated with your order – you'll then be able to update your credit card information, view your receipts and/or generate invoices, cancel your subscription with a click, etc.
Will the price go up?
Maybe. In the end, Distressed Dispatch is much more a passion project than anything else and serves my dual aims of satisfying my writing itch and allowing me to better think through interesting developments.
With that said, there's an obvious reality that this type of newsletter appeals to a pretty limited cohort (and I have no interest in self-promotion) so there's the need to make enough from it to justify my time.
However, the price will never go down since it's impossible for me to revise the current subscription rates for past subscribers (up or down). So, you'll "lock-in" the lowest rate by subscribing now (albeit perhaps this will always be the lowest rate).
Can I cancel my subscription?
Of course. Through the payment processor's order portal mentioned above you can cancel your subscription with a few clicks and will retain full access until the expiration of your subscription. You never need to contact me to cancel a subscription (unless there are logistical difficulties, then I can do it on your behalf).
Can I promote Distressed Dispatch?
As mentioned, I have no interest in self-promotion. However, you can sign-up as an "affiliate" for Distressed Dispatch, receive a special "affiliate link", and then receive ~30% of the revenue from all those that sign-up through your link (subject to payment processor fees, etc.) on a recurring basis.
In other words, if someone that signed-up through your link stays subscribed for ten months, then you'll receive ~30% of the revenue from that subscriber for those ten months.
All affiliates need to be "approved" by me, and I'd ask that affiliates make no claims about Distressed Dispatch that are over the top or otherwise cringe-inducing. To learn more, click here.
Note: All payouts come through the payment processor, not me, either direct to your bank account or PayPal account. After signing up you'll have a little affiliate area where you can track how many people clicked your link, signed up, and how much you've earned.
Note: Be aware that if I decide to stop publishing Distressed Dispatch in the future and pause / cancel all active subscriptions, then you'll (of course) stop earning commissions.
Can I email you with questions?
It always makes my day to receive emails from those that have landed offers due to my writing, so I'll never discourage those. However, as I'm sure all can appreciate, I have extremely limited free time and if even a fraction of those that read what I've written were to email me questions or comments or their own opinions then I wouldn't have the time to write much of anything else.
Given this, one shouldn't sign-up to Distressed Dispatch on the presumption that they can email me questions or otherwise pick my brain on the topics I've written about (or other topics out there). While I wish I had more time, and I hate to not be helpful, it's a large time sink. So, I don't want anyone's expectations to be misaligned and to have hard feelings when I don't respond to their emails.
Further, since I'll be writing about things that have recently happened, or could happen, there'll be occasional (or more than occasional) omissions, typos, incorrect calculations, or views that are out of consensus. So, in retrospect some of what I write might not age well (or courts of ill-repute might disagree with my takes à la Serta and Incora and Purdue).
With that said, of course if there are any logistical issues with Distressed Dispatch you can email me and I'll try to remedy them (e.g., you can't sign-in to the site, etc.). You can reach me at Contact (at) DistressedDispatch.com