About New Generation Research, Inc.
New Generation Research, Inc., is a leading provider of bankruptcy and distressed securities publications, products and services. Founded in 1986 by George Putnam, III, New Generation Research, Inc. has established itself as the preeminent source for in-depth information on corporate bankruptcies and distressed companies.
The Turnaround Letter was New Generation Research’s pioneer product with the first issue being mailed to subscribers in July of 1986. The goal of The Turnaround Letter then and today is to provide insight into potential turnaround situations and to recommend stock purchases that we feel have potential for large and/or imminent increases. The Turnaround Letter’s analytical techniques do not neatly fit into a defined category such “technical” or “fundamental.” Rather we look at all the available information, price and volume history, financials, management, legal background, economic climate and a number of other items in search of clues that a turnaround is imminent. The Turnaround Letter's track record speaks for itself, over the last 20 years our recommendations have outpaced the recommendations of every other investment newsletter on the market except for one.
The growth in popularity of The Turnaround Letter over the next 25 years coincided with the growth of New Generation Research as a business. Numerous other products and services were launched, all related to corporate bankruptcy and distressed and turnaround situations, including: Bankruptcy Week, BankruptcyData.com, The Bankruptcy Yearbook & Almanac, the Distressed Company Alert, custom bankruptcy research and consulting. Additionally, New Generation Research houses and maintains the industry’s most extensive corporate bankruptcy research database and provides corporate bankruptcy data to numerous data aggregators such as LexisNexis and Westlaw.
Turnaround Tips
TLCorner
Where Are the Customers' Yachts?
This headline could easily apply to Goldman Sachs today, as recently described by former employee Greg Smith. Actually, it is the title of a book written in 1940 by a former Wall Street employee named Fred Schwed, Jr. The title refers to a story about person admiring the yachts owned by bankers and brokers who asks where the customers' yachts were. Of course, the customers, who had dutifully followed the advice of the bankers and brokers, couldn’t afford yachts. This just goes to show that there is nothing new about the attitude that Goldman Sachs employees were purported (probably accurately) to have about their clients. It was just as true in 1940--and likely has been forever--as it is now.
Read More.Beware of Trendy Turnaround Candidates - Even Green Ones
Don't Chase the Headlines
The recent unfortunate accident involving the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which is owned by a subsidiary of Carnival Corp., raises an important investing question: Should you bail out of a stock if the company is affected by a serious negative event? Unless the event could be part of a series or trend, the answer is usually “no,” for two reasons.
Read More.What did The Turnaround Letter see that others did not?
Questions & Tips
AskGeorge
Now that Greece's latest bailout is complete, is it safe to buy European stocks again?
We’re not at all sure that either Greece’s or Europe’s troubles are truly behind them. But that said, we also believe that it makes sense to have some European exposure in your portfolio. The advice we gave in the November 2011 issue still holds...
Read More.With so much turmoil and uncertainty in the U.S. economy, and even more fear of collapse overseas, do you ever recommend just getting out of the stock market all together and hunkering down with something safer like bonds?
I never recommend getting out of the stock market entirely--or even making major changes to your allocation to stocks. The stock market is so unpredictable that if you bail out, the risk is very high that you will miss a significant upturn. Moreover, even if you make the right call to get out of the market, you then have to muster the courage to get back in.
Read More.What is your opinion on investing in foreign turnaround companies?
There are certainly good opportunities in foreign turnarounds, but also very significant risks as well. The market inefficiencies that provide unusually high return potential for turnarounds here in the U.S. are probably even greater in foreign markets. However, there may be special, local features that affect foreign companies that we may not understand when we view them from afar.
Read More.Bankruptcy Investing
George reflects on bankruptcy investing activity & trends seen in 2010. Read more.