Restructuring & Distressed Investing Certificate Program

The most valuable skills in finance endure across market cycles.

Corporate restructuring and distressed investing develop those skills by forcing clarity in complexity. They sharpen your ability to assess risk, understand how value moves across a capital structure, interpret competing incentives, and make sound judgments when outcomes matter most. Over time, professionals who build this perspective earn trust across credit, investing, advisory, and leadership roles, because they know how to operate when stakes are high and information is imperfect.

The Wharton Online and Wall Street Prep Restructuring & Distressed Investing Certificate Program was built for exactly that professional. Over 8 weeks, you’ll move through the full arc of distress — from liquidity challenges and balance sheet restructurings to Chapter 11, distressed M&A, and operational turnarounds — taught by Wharton faculty and practitioners who have led the most consequential restructuring transactions of the past two decades.

The program works for professionals across the restructuring ecosystem. If you’re a credit investor seeing more stressed names, an advisor navigating increasingly complex situations, a lawyer who wants sharper financial intuition, or a corporate finance leader who needs to recognize distress before it becomes a crisis, this program gives you the frameworks, the vocabulary, and the judgment to operate with confidence.

Upon successful completion of the final exam, you’ll earn a digital certificate from Wharton Online, which can be shared on LinkedIn and your resume.

Program Highlights

Taught by the people who’ve led the deals. The speaker roster includes partners from Silver Point Capital, Perella Weinberg, Kirkland & Ellis, Ropes & Gray, Monarch Alternative Capital, Guggenheim Securities, and Evercore — professionals who have advised on some of the most complex restructurings in recent history. You learn the craft from the people who practice it at the highest level.
A curriculum built around real situations, not textbook scenarios. Every module is grounded in actual cases — Bayfield Generators, J. Crew, Toys “R” Us, Serta Simmons, JC Penney, American Airlines, Chesapeake Energy — so you develop pattern recognition, not just technical knowledge. Concepts are introduced in context, reinforced through case studies, and immediately applicable.
The full arc of distress, in one program. Most training covers one slice of restructuring — either the investment side or the advisory side, either out-of-court or Chapter 11. This program covers all of it: liquidity analysis, capital structure modeling, liability management exercises, DIP financing, plan of reorganization mechanics, Section 363 sales, operational turnarounds, and distressed M&A.
A credential that signals real expertise. Earn a digital certificate co-signed by Wharton Online and Wall Street Prep — and 65 CPE credits toward your continuing education requirements. The program is anchored by The Credit Investor’s Handbook by Honorary Chair Michael Gatto of Silver Point Capital, the definitive practitioner’s guide to leveraged loans, high yield bonds, and distressed debt.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Duration: 8 weeks

Format:
Online, self-paced

Tuition:
$5,000 ($200 application fee waived before early enrollment date)

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Program Format

The Restructuring & Distressed Investing Certificate Program runs over eight sequential weekly modules, each designed around a distinct phase of the distressed cycle — from diagnosing financial decline to executing complex restructuring transactions and deploying distressed investment strategies.

Modules combine video instruction, applied modeling exercises, and guest practitioner sessions grounded in real cases. The program is self-paced, with a recommended commitment of 10 hours per week. Live virtual office hours give you direct access to program faculty for Q&A and assignment review. A dedicated enrollment team supports you from registration through your certificate.

Participants also earn 65 CPE credits upon completion. Wall Street Prep and Wharton Online are registered with NASBA as sponsors of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.

Live sessions: Weekly virtual office hours with Wharton faculty
Time Commitment: Recommended 8–10 hours per week
Assessments: Hands-on exercises and multi-part case studies with final exam
Certification: Digital certificate from Wharton Online + Wall Street Prep, with optional in-person ceremony in NYC
Tuition Assistance: Up to $550 off — apply to qualify
CPE Credits: 65 CPE credits (NASBA-registered)
Cohort Frequency: February, June, and October

Eight Modules

Self-paced Online

Introduction to Distress and Distressed Investing	Decline, Distress, and Turnaround Management
Modeling the Capital Stack	Liability Management Exercises
Entering Bankruptcy	Exiting Bankruptcy Including Distressed M&A
Operational Turnarounds Including 13-Week Cash Budgets	Distressed Maneuvers Including Complex Modeling

Who Should Attend

The Restructuring & Distressed Investing Certificate Program is designed for early- to mid-career finance and non-finance professionals who need fluency across distressed situations, whether they seek out distress or distress finds them.

Credit & Special Situations Investors — You’re seeing more stressed names in your portfolio. Build a structured framework for evaluating downside scenarios, recovery values, and control strategies.
Restructuring & Turnaround Advisors — You’re advising through increasingly complex situations. Sharpen your financial analysis and gain fluency across the full toolkit — from LMEs to Chapter 11.
Bankruptcy & Creditor Rights Attorneys — You understand the law. Build the financial intuition — valuation, waterfall mechanics, capital structure dynamics — that makes you more effective at the table.
Private Equity Professionals — Distressed acquisitions, carve-outs, and portfolio company workouts require a different playbook. This program builds it.
Investment Bankers in RX & Lev Fin — Whether you’re in a restructuring group or covering leveraged credits, gain the practitioner-led depth that pure banking training doesn’t provide.
C-Suite & Corporate Finance Leaders — CFOs, FP&A leaders, and executives who need to recognize distress signals early, navigate creditor dynamics, and lead through financial stress.
Career Switchers — Early- to mid-career professionals in adjacent fields looking to build the restructuring fluency needed to move into credit, advisory, or special situations roles.
Students — Undergraduate and graduate students in business, finance, law, or accounting preparing for roles in restructuring advisory, credit investing, or leveraged finance.

Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

Reach out to the enrollment team at:

enrollment@wharton.wallstreetprep.com

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Delivered in collaboration with program partner Wall Street Prep:

Program Directors

Kevin Kaiser, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Adjunct Professor of Finance; Senior Director, Harris Family Alternative Investments Program, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Corporate finance, managing for value, private equity, financial distress

Jeff AnapolskySee Faculty Bio

Program Co-Director, Founder, Anapolsky Advisors

Jon MatlaSee Faculty Bio

Program Co-Director, Founder & Managing Partner, JEM Capital Management

Bilge Yilmaz, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Wharton Private Equity Professor; Professor of Finance; Academic Director, Harris Family Alternative Investments Program, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Corporate finance, alternative investments, game theory, political economy

Curriculum Advisor & Honorary Chair

Michael GattoSee Faculty Bio

Partner, Silver Point Capital

Keynote Speakers

Keith Aurzada — Partner and Global Co-Chair, Reed Smith LLP Global co-chair of Reed Smith’s financial industry group; advises companies, boards, and executive teams on complex restructurings and high-stakes creditor negotiations across technology, healthcare, real estate, and energy.

Jordan Berger — Managing Partner, Sundara Partners Invests in middle-market businesses facing distress; has served as CEO, CFO, and CRO across turnarounds preserving thousands of jobs and over $1 billion in enterprise value. Formerly Portage Point Partners and EY-Parthenon. BS, Cornell University.

Mark Buschmann — Co-Founder & Partner, Ensis Partners Co-founder of Ensis Partners, a boutique restructuring advisory firm; formerly partner at PJT Partners and senior managing director at Blackstone. MBA, Northwestern Kellogg; BA, Dartmouth College.

Adam Cohen — Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager, Caspian 25+ years investing in corporate credit across multiple cycles; built Caspian into a leading fundamental credit manager. Formerly VP in Goldman Sachs’ proprietary distressed investing group and attorney at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Tad Davidson — Partner and Co-Lead of Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Co-leads the firm’s bankruptcy/restructuring practice; represents PE firms, hedge funds, secured lenders, debtors, and creditor committees across in-court and out-of-court restructurings nationwide.

Jim Doak — Head and Managing Director, Capital Structure Advisory, Stifel Institutional Leads the capital structure advisory group (formerly Miller Buckfire); has advised on situations including the City of Detroit, Gymboree, Foxwoods Casino, and Puerto Rico’s COFINA. Degrees from Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, and Harvard University.

Hon. Robert Drain — United States Bankruptcy Judge (ret.) Served 20+ years as a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of New York; formerly a partner at Paul, Weiss; continues to serve as mediator in Chapter 11 cases across jurisdictions.

Max Frumes — Global Head of Distressed/Restructuring, 9fin Business journalist and co-author of The Caesars Palace Coup; founding editor of Reorg Research and former head of Special Sits at LevFin Insights.

Brendan Hayes — Senior Managing Director, Guggenheim Securities Advises on restructuring, M&A, leveraged finance, and DIP and exit financings; formerly at Millstein & Co., Lazard, Lehman Brothers, and Barclays Capital. MBA, NYU Stern.

Andrew Hede — President, Business Transformation and Transactions, Accordion 30 years of restructuring and operational transformation experience across the U.S. and Australia; frequently serves as interim CEO, CRO, and chief transformation officer. Formerly U.S. head of restructuring at McKinsey & Company.

Andrew Herenstein — Managing Principal, Monarch Alternative Capital Co-founded Monarch in 2002, growing it into a leading distressed and special situations platform; serves on the investment committee for each of the firm’s strategies. Formerly director at Lazard. MBA, Columbia University.

Zul Jamal — Managing Director & Co-Head of US Capital Structure Advisory, Moelis 25+ years advising on Chapter 11 bankruptcies, exchange offers, and distressed financings at Moelis and Jefferies. BS in economics, Wharton School (magna cum laude).

George Kildonas — Partner, Latham & Watkins Advises clients across restructurings, LMEs, and special situations; previously completed a secondment with KKR’s Special Situations Group. Frequent speaker at TMA, ABI, and the Wharton Restructuring and Distressed Investing Conference.

Vivian Lau — CEO & CIO, Senado Management Special-situations investor with expertise in distressed credit, opportunistic equity, and complex secondary transactions; formerly managing director at Sixth Street, founder of One Tusk Investment Partners, and co-CIO at Serengeti Asset Management. Began career as a founding member of Goldman Sachs’ special-situations group. BA, Harvard University.

Kyung Lee — Partner, Shannon Lee Beatty LLP 40+ years in restructuring and bankruptcy; holds both a JD and MBA from Duke University; active member of the ABA’s business bankruptcy committee and frequent speaker on advanced bankruptcy topics.

Mo Meghji — Managing Partner, M3 Partners Nationally recognized turnaround leader with 30+ years of experience; has served as CRO for Sears Holdings, Barneys New York, Sanchez Energy, and Capmark Financial Group. Certified turnaround professional and chartered accountant.

Bruce Mendelsohn — Partner & Global Head, Perella Weinberg 35+ years in distressed and special situations; has advised Spirit Airlines, FTX, Delta Air Lines, iHeartMedia, and Royal Caribbean. Formerly head of Americas restructuring at Goldman Sachs. MBA, Wharton School.

Matthew Ray — Founder and CEO, Portage Point Partners Founder of Portage Point Partners; has served as CRO, CEO, and board member across 15+ restructuring engagements. Co-founded Victory Park Capital, growing multi-billion-dollar assets across direct lending, PE, and special situations. Certified turnaround professional.

Roopesh Shah — Senior Managing Director, Evercore Leads liability management and restructuring advisory at Evercore; has advised on situations including Talen Energy, Frontier Communications, Avaya, Serta Simmons Bedding, and Toys “R” Us. Formerly global head of restructuring finance and advisory at Goldman Sachs. BS in economics, Wharton School.

Chad Shandler — Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting Co-leads FTI’s Healthcare practice and Healthcare Restructuring services; 30+ years leading restructurings as interim CEO, CRO, and financial advisor across healthcare, senior living, and hospital systems.

Rachel Strickland — Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP Global chair of Ropes & Gray’s business restructuring practice; consistently ranked by Chambers USA and Chambers Global; clients include Walgreens Boots Alliance, DISH Network, KKR, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

Josh Sussberg — Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP Member of Kirkland & Ellis’s executive committee; named Advocate of the Year by Global Restructuring Review (2025) and included in Forbes’ Top 200 Lawyers in America (2024). Adjunct professor at the Wharton School and Syracuse University; fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

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