A structured database of companies that are filing for bankruptcy is a gold mine for institutional investors. Not only does it highlight distressed and/or turnaround investment opportunities, it can also be a valuable leading indicator to identify which other companies may soon share the same fate.

For readers that are 1) actively searching for a bankruptcy database, 2) considering alternatives to the database(s) that they are currently subscribed to, or 3) simply curious about the space, we summarise a 2018 academic paper that details how to construct a company bankruptcy database using alternative data.

OVERVIEW

If an institutional investor was interested in 1) identifying distressed and/or turnaround opportunities, or 2) identifying which companies/sectors may become bankrupt in the near future, it is highly likely that they would have to subscribe to