Book review: Just about all you need to know about convertible securities

PROFESSIONALS who contemplate investing in, hedging, or issuing investment-grade or speculative-grade convertible bonds or preferreds in the public or private market in North America, Europe, or Asia will find just about everything they need to know in Convertible Securities: A Complete Guide to Investment and Corporate Financing Strategies.

Pointers on such matters as using convertibles to diversify a portfolio or to optimise a capital structure are meticulously supported with empirical data and amplified with case studies. If, on certain subjects, readers desire more details than even the book’s 560 pages could accommodate, they can follow up on handy references to material on the website of Advent Capital Management, where the book’s authors Tracy V. Maitland, F. Barry Nelson and Daniel G. Partlow, apply their expertise in managing convertibles.

In addition, the book recounts the asset class’ evolution from its 19th century origins right through the investment implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and recent modifications of accounting standards for convertible issuers.