I architect the debt, risk, and recovery protocols lenders use to win.
Converting distressed receivables, delinquency, and charge-offs into liquidity for banks, credit unions, fintech lenders, and private credit funds.
Portfolio Valuation • Lending Risk • Debt Sale Advisory • AI Recovery Intelligence
Victory is engineered.
Jeffery Hartman is the Institutional Debt Market Architect specializing in distressed portfolio valuation, lending risk strategy, NPL liquidity events, debt sale advisory, and AI-driven recovery intelligence for banks, credit unions, fintech lenders, and private credit funds.
Take the first step towards financial success. This is your opportunity to discuss your specific goals and discover how my expertise can directly benefit your business.
Book a Discovery CallDeep expertise in the finance industry with a dedicated focus on the complexities of the secondary debt market.
A proven track record of buying, selling, and brokering over $100 billion in successful, high-value transactions.
Delivering the experience and insight needed to manage debt sales, optimize collection agencies, and leverage technology.
MY 4 PILLARS OF SUCCESS: T.A.C.T
T.A.C.T Approach
Philosophy is nothing without infrastructure. I designed the Fitzgerald Disposition Protocol to execute these strategies at an institutional scale. If you are ready to move from theory to liquidation, access the facility.
BECAUSE I’M STRAIGHT TO THE POINT. NO FLUFF, NO GAMES—JUST REAL NUMBERS AND REAL STRATEGY.
I BUY, SELL, AND MANAGE DEBT EVERY SINGLE DAY.
I BUILD THE TECHNOLOGY THIS INDUSTRY RUNS ON. I’M A DEAL-MAKER, NOT A SPECTATOR. I LIVE, SLEEP, AND BREATHE THIS BUSINESS.
IF YOU WANT HONESTY, SPEED, AND EXECUTION FROM SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY KNOWS THE MARKET, I’M YOUR GUY.
Comprehensive asset acquisition and offloading services, connecting creditors with top collection agencies via expert brokers.
Step-by-step consulting to launch and grow a compliant, profitable agency from the ground up.
Building AI-driven systems and custom software solutions to streamline agency operations and improve efficiency.
Advanced tools and strategies for maximizing recovery rates.
You can still leverage my infrastructure. My team at Fitzgerald Advisors handles portfolio acquisitions and agency vetting using the same standards I teach, without the consulting fee.
Work with My Team at Fitzgerald
Growth is not limited by financial challenges; it is choked by a failure of strategy. I provide the protocol to correct this.
I go beyond the role of a traditional debt portfolio broker; I engineer the liquidity events that clear balance sheets. I command the art of debt brokerage by fusing it with proprietary fintech and market intelligence.
As a senior collection agency consultant and capital markets director, I architect the advanced collection strategies for accounts receivable that institutions rely on to mitigate risk. And for your entire operation, I engineer the definitive accounts receivable strategic plan—the master protocol for optimizing your accounts receivable through data, software, and secure disposition.
This is not collaboration; it is the deployment of a superior infrastructure, whether you are a lender, an investor, or an entrepreneur building an empire.
Debt Consultant Services / Accounts Receivable Strategies
"How a confidential sale of a $10M credit card portfolio preserved value by avoiding a public auction."
"How a discreet and competitive process among 3 vetted buyers increased the final price of an auto portfolio by 18%."
The Professional Record
Growth isn’t slowed by challenges; it’s choked by a failure of strategy. I deploy the corrective protocol: tactical debt portfolio sales, elite collection agency consulting, and AI-driven recovery solutions for a global clientele. Executed bilingually.
I have assembled an elite cadre of debt portfolio managers, accounts receivable strategies, and capital markets specialists. We are dedicated to one outcome: helping institutional lenders and agencies execute secure, audit-ready transactions that maximize net recovery.
We provide loan sale advisory services to banks, investment funds, and insurance companies. Our focus includes the purchase and sale of performing and non-performing whole loan portfolios, as well as the buying, selling, and brokering of private mortgage notes.
Debt Catalyst
Debt Catalyst is the institutional-grade intelligence platform for the debt buying industry. We replace outdated FICO-based models and manual spreadsheets with a powerful, AI-driven ecosystem. Our platform provides end-to-end capabilities, including: a granular, DCF-based valuation engine; actionable “AI Recovery Blueprints” for account-level strategy; a unique Economic Strength Index (ESI) for geo-risk; and a full suite of tools for pre-acquisition due diligence and post-acquisition performance ar management. We empower debt funds and acquirers to price with precision, strategize with intelligence, and manage their portfolios for maximum ROI.
Bank Watch Pro is a real-time banking intelligence and risk analytics platform designed to help lenders, investors, and financial professionals monitor the financial health and regulatory standing of U.S. banks and credit unions. Leveraging call report data, advanced risk scoring algorithms, and AI-powered alerts, Bank Pro Watch transforms complex financial filings into actionable insights.
The platform provides a comprehensive view of institutional performance, including non-performing loan (NPL) trends, capital adequacy, delinquency patterns, charge-off risk, loan portfolio exposures, and early warning indicators. With seamless integrations to AI, FDIC, NCUA, FRED and Census Bureau data, users can track asset quality, peer benchmarks, consumer complaint trends, and geographic risk profiles—all in one place.
Whether you’re an investor assessing portfolio risk, a debt buyer seeking distressed opportunities, or a financial institution monitoring competitors or partners, Bank Pro Watch equips you with the tools to make faster, smarter, and more compliant decisions.
The premier industry community focused on community banking, lending, credit risk, portfolio performance, and FDIC data. Moderated to promote high-quality discussions that support operational excellence in the community banking sector.
A dedicated ecosystem for portfolio management, compliance, lending strategy, and operational intelligence. I oversee discussions, frameworks, and insights that support over 21,000 Credit Union executives and operators.
Specializing in the brokerage of diverse debt asset types, I help clients maximize returns on debt sales. From charged-off portfolios to niche debt categories, unlock value and profitability with expert guidance.
Access Your Debt Inventory List"I do not broker deals on public forums. My private mandates and institutional inventory are managed exclusively through Fitzgerald Advisors. This ensures your data remains secure and your brand protected."
Authoritative analysis on debt recovery, compliance, and collection technology. This is the official source for the protocols and frameworks used to increase liquidation rates and ensure operational dominance, regularly reviewed.
The market is filled with noise. This is the signal. Access the definitive glossary and strategic frameworks for portfolio valuation, regulatory compliance, and audit-ready execution used by top-tier institutions.
Debt buying is the acquisition of legal title to charged-off consumer or commercial debt, transforming non-performing loans into a tradable, alternative financial asset class. A professional buyer purchases the legal right to collect on the debt, along with all associated data and media, for a fraction of its face value. Unlike traditional assets like stocks or bonds, the return is not generated by market appreciation or interest yield, but by the successful execution of a collection strategy. It is not a passive investment; it is the active management of financial risk and recovery operations.
The core asset classes in debt portfolio investing are categorized by the debt’s origin and security, which dictates its risk profile, compliance requirements, and liquidation potential. The primary classes are:
Credit Card & Installment Loans: The workhorse of the industry. High volume, standardized data, and predictable consumer behavior make this the most liquid asset class.
Auto Deficiencies: The remaining balance on an auto loan after repossession. This is a complex asset class due to varying state laws, but often has higher balances.
Fintech & BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later): An emerging and rapidly growing class of unsecured installment debt from modern lenders, requiring specialized data handling and collection strategies.
Medical Receivables: A highly regulated asset class governed by HIPAA and other privacy laws, requiring specialist servicers who understand the complexities of insurance and patient billing.
Commercial & Industrial (C&I): Debt owed by businesses, not consumers. This is a distinct asset class with different legal frameworks and collection tactics.
A professional investor specializes in one or two asset classes; an amateur dabbles in them all and masters none.
The profitability model for a professional debt buyer is a disciplined financial formula based on the arbitrage between a portfolio’s discounted purchase price and its forecasted net liquidation value. The model is not a guess; it is a calculation with three core components:
Purchase Price: The capital invested to acquire the portfolio, expressed as a percentage of the total face value (e.g., 3 cents on the dollar).
Gross Liquidation: The total amount of money successfully collected over a specific time horizon (typically 36 months).
Cost to Collect: The total operational expense required to achieve the gross liquidation, including agency commissions, legal fees, and administrative costs.
The profitability of a collection agency rests upon a non-negotiable tripod of three critical success factors. Failure in any one of these pillars does not lead to reduced profits; it leads to total operational collapse.
Ironclad Compliance: This is the agency’s license to operate. It requires a deep, demonstrable mastery of the FDCPA, TCPA, CFPB regulations, and all state-specific laws. It is the shield that protects the agency and its clients from litigation.
Operational Efficiency: Profit is driven by minimizing the cost-per-dollar-collected. This requires a modern technology stack (dialer, software, AI), disciplined agent training, and a data-driven strategy for account segmentation and workflow.
Consistent Capital & Portfolio Supply: An agency cannot collect on accounts it doesn’t have. Success requires either significant capital to purchase its own portfolios or strong relationships with creditors and brokers like Jeffery Hartman to secure a consistent “forward flow” of accounts to service.
The legal framework governing debt buying in the US is a complex web of federal and state regulations designed to protect consumers, which professional buyers treat as the non-negotiable rules of engagement. The primary pillars of this framework are:
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA): The bedrock federal law that dictates what collectors can and cannot do when collecting consumer debts.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA): Governs the use of automated dialing systems and communications to mobile phones.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): Regulates how consumer credit information is reported and used.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): The primary federal enforcement body that creates and enforces new rules, such as Regulation F, which further defines and clarifies the FDCPA.
State & Local Laws: A patchwork of state-specific licensing laws, statutes of limitations, and collection rules that often provide additional layers of consumer protection.
The primary risks in debt buying are not a matter of chance; they are distinct variables that must be identified, priced into the valuation model, and mitigated through disciplined protocols. The four major risks are:
Compliance Risk: The risk of litigation and regulatory fines from improper collection activities.
Mitigation: Forensic due diligence on every portfolio, deploying only vetted, compliant collection agencies, and using technology like speech analytics to monitor 100% of collection calls.
Title Risk: The risk that the seller does not have clear, legal ownership of the debt, rendering it worthless.
Mitigation: A mandatory, unbroken “Chain of Title” audit, requiring a complete set of legal documents (Bills of Sale, Affidavits) proving ownership from the original creditor. No exceptions.
Performance Risk: The risk that the portfolio liquidates below the forecasted recovery rate, resulting in a financial loss.
Mitigation: A rigorous, data-driven valuation model before purchase, conservative liquidation forecasting, and never overpaying for an asset, no matter the competition.
Data Risk: The risk that the portfolio’s data file is inaccurate or incomplete, leading to wasted collection efforts and compliance violations.
Mitigation: Pre-purchase data scrubbing and verification, and contractual clauses that allow for the “put-back” or return of accounts that do not meet the agreed-upon data standards.
Risk is never eliminated. It is understood, priced, and controlled. Amateurs are ruined by risks they never saw coming.
An unpaid invoice requires third-party collection at the Internal Failure Point, which is the moment the internal cost and effort to collect exceeds the probable return. For most businesses, this point is reached between 90 and 120 days of delinquency. Beyond this window, the probability of collection drops exponentially with each passing month, and the continued use of internal resources yields a negative return on investment. Handing the account to a third-party specialist at this juncture is not an admission of failure; it is a calculated business decision to deploy a more effective weapon while reallocating internal resources to profitable activities.
The vetting standard for a specialist agency is a three-part audit that confirms their expertise is real, not just a marketing claim. A generalist agency applying a consumer strategy to a complex B2B or medical portfolio is an act of malpractice. The standard requires:
Niche Compliance & Licensing: The agency must demonstrate specific licensing and certifications for that industry (e.g., HIPAA compliance for medical, knowledge of UCC filings for B2B).
Specialized Technology & Talk-Tracks: Their collection software, client portal, and agent training must be purpose-built for the asset class. A medical collector has a different talk-track and workflow than a commercial collector negotiating with a CFO.
Verifiable Performance Benchmarks: They must provide specific, verifiable liquidation data and client references within that asset class. A high recovery rate on credit cards is irrelevant if you are placing a portfolio of medical receivables.
The protocol for maximizing the value of a bad debt portfolio is a disciplined, five-step process that replaces open-market risk with controlled, competitive pressure.
Data Curation & Segmentation: Prepare a clean, scrubbed data file and segment the portfolio into homogenous tranches by asset class and delinquency.
Formal Valuation: Engage an expert to perform a formal valuation based on a discounted cash flow model to establish a defensible market price.
Confidential Broker Engagement: Retain an off-market specialist broker to access a curated network of vetted, high-capital buyers without exposing the asset publicly.
Controlled Bid Process: The broker runs a time-bound, confidential auction among a hand-selected group of 3-5 ideal buyers, creating scarcity and driving the price up.
Execution & Transfer: Execute a legally sound purchase and sale agreement and transfer the data and media securely.
The Jeffery Hartman Standard for onboarding a new collection agency is a non-negotiable, three-part audit. The agency is not a partner; it is a vendor being evaluated for the privilege of handling my assets. They must pass all three gates:
The Legal & Compliance Audit: We conduct a full review of all state and federal licenses, bonding, E&O insurance, and their FDCPA/TCPA/CFPB compliance history.
The Technology & Security Audit: We audit their data security protocols (SOC 2, PCI DSS), their collection software platform, their client portal capabilities, and their disaster recovery plan.
The Operational & Performance Audit: We review their training manuals, collection strategies, reporting capabilities, and remittance procedures, and demand performance benchmarks on comparable portfolios.
Failure at any stage terminates the onboarding process.
The market price of a debt portfolio is determined by a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) valuation model. This is the same model used to value any other financial asset. It is not based on emotion or guesswork; it is a strict financial calculation based on three key inputs:
The Gross Collection Forecast: A projection of the total cash that will be recovered over a set period (typically 36 months), based on the portfolio’s specific characteristics.
The Cost to Collect: The total projected expenses, primarily the collection agency’s commission, required to achieve the gross forecast.
The Discount Rate (IRR): The annual Internal Rate of Return the buyer requires to compensate for the risk of the investment.
The market price is the result of these three inputs. A professional valuation provides this calculation; an amateur provides a guess.
Top-tier collection agencies operate on a Contingency Fee Model, which means they only earn a fee if they successfully collect money. The fee is a percentage of the dollars collected. The two primary structures are:
Flat-Rate Contingency: A fixed percentage (e.g., 25-40%) applied to all funds collected, regardless of the account’s age.
Tiered-Rate Contingency: A variable percentage that increases as the account ages. For example, 20% for accounts under 90 days old, and 45% for accounts over one year old. This model incentivizes the agency to work fresher, higher-value accounts immediately.
A higher commission rate from a top-performing agency will always produce a higher net-back return to the creditor than a lower rate from a mediocre agency. You pay for performance, not effort.
A legally compliant account placement requires two components, delivered simultaneously. Failure to provide both renders the account uncollectible and creates a significant liability for the creditor.
The Core Data File: A secure data file (typically CSV or Excel) containing the essential debtor information, including full name, address, phone, Social Security number, account number, open date, charge-off date, and the full charge-off balance with a principal/interest breakdown.
The Media Package: Verifiable proof of the debt for each account, including a copy of the original signed application or agreement, the charge-off statement, and a complete transaction history.
Placing an account without this full documentation package is not just bad practice; it is professional malpractice.
The strategic advantages of a broker-led sale are the same advantages a sniper has over a shotgun: precision, control, and maximum impact.
Value Maximization: A broker creates a confidential, competitive environment among a curated group of 3-5 ideal, fully vetted buyers. This scarcity and targeted competition drives the price up. A public marketplace creates a broad auction where buyers compete to see who can get the asset for the lowest price.
Confidentiality & Risk Mitigation: A broker-led process is silent. The asset is never exposed to the public, preventing value decay and reputational damage. A marketplace broadcasts the asset, and if it doesn’t sell, it is permanently branded as “stale paper.”
Efficiency and Certainty: A broker deals only with proven closers who have been vetted for capital and intent. A marketplace is flooded with unqualified tire-kickers who waste time and may not have the capital to complete the transaction.
The operational blueprint for launching a compliant collection agency is a rigid, three-pillar structure. Success is not possible without a significant, simultaneous investment in all three areas.
The Legal & Compliance Foundation: This is the bedrock. It includes securing state-by-state licensing and bonding, retaining experienced FDCPA/TCPA legal counsel, and implementing a comprehensive, documented compliance management system (CMS) before the first call is ever made.
The Capital & Technology Core: This includes significant capital for a modern, scalable technology stack—a TCPA-compliant dialer, a robust collection software platform, and secure IT infrastructure. It also requires the capital to either purchase debt portfolios or operate for months before contingency fees are realized.
An agency without all three pillars is not a business; it is a future bankruptcy and a magnet for lawsuits.
The Operational & Talent Framework: This involves developing a documented training program for collectors, a defined collection strategy and talk-track, and a clear reporting and remittance structure for clients.
The licensing requirements for a collection agency are a complex patchwork of federal oversight and state-specific mandates. At the federal level, there is no single “license,” but agencies are under the direct authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and must adhere to all its rules. At the state level, requirements are fragmented and demand a state-by-state approach, typically including:
Registration/Licensing: Most states require formal registration or a specific collection agency license to operate.
Surety Bonds: Many states require agencies to post a surety bond, ranging from $5,000 to over $100,000, as a financial guarantee of their compliance.
Registered Agent: Agencies must maintain a registered agent in each state where they are licensed.
Navigating this framework without expert legal counsel is an act of professional malpractice.
The third-party debt collection workflow is a systematic, five-stage process designed to move an account from initial placement to final remittance in a compliant and efficient manner.
Account Onboarding & Data Scrubbing: The agency receives the data file, scrubs it against bankruptcy and litigator databases, and loads it into the collection software.
Initial Communication (Validation): The legally required validation notice is sent, officially starting the collection process.
Strategic Contact Campaign: A multi-channel contact strategy is deployed, using a combination of manual and automated calls, letters, and (with proper consent) emails and SMS.
Negotiation & Resolution: A trained collector negotiates with the consumer to arrange a lump-sum settlement or a payment plan.
Payment Processing & Remittance: Payments are processed, and the net funds (less the agency’s contingency fee) are remitted to the creditor on a pre-agreed schedule.
The strategic difference is the primary weapon each wields. A collection agency’s primary weapon is communication. They are specialists in contact, negotiation, and persuasion to achieve a voluntary resolution. A collection law firm’s primary weapon is litigation. Their leverage comes from the credible, legal threat of a lawsuit and subsequent judgment, including actions like wage garnishment. An agency is the first line of attack for broad-based recovery; a law firm is the specialized, high-cost weapon deployed for high-balance accounts where legal action is the only remaining path to recovery.
The protocol for maximizing proceeds on a mixed-asset portfolio is to divide and conquer. A bundled, mixed portfolio will always sell at a discount to the lowest-quality asset within it. The correct protocol is a four-step process:
Segment by Asset Class: Carve the portfolio into clean, homogenous tranches (e.g., Credit Card, Auto, Fintech).
Segment by Quality: Within each class, further isolate the high-value paper (e.g., fresh charge-offs with balances over $5,000).
Targeted Specialist Sale: Sell the high-value, homogenous tranches via a confidential, broker-led process to specialist buyers who will pay a premium for that specific asset type.
Bulk Liquidation: Bundle the remaining low-balance, older, and esoteric assets and sell them for an efficient, bulk price to a buyer who specializes in sweeping up remnants.
Speech analytics is deployed as a system of total surveillance, moving an agency from the flawed model of manually reviewing 1-2% of calls to a complete, automated audit of 100% of calls. The implementation is two-fold:
Proactive Compliance Monitoring: The software is programmed to detect specific FDCPA/CFPB “poison words” and phrases (e.g., “threaten,” “harass,” “attorney”) in real-time. It also automatically verifies that required compliance disclosures, like the Mini-Miranda, are read verbatim on every call.
Automated Quality Assurance: It flags deviations from approved talk-tracks, identifies periods of dead air, and detects expressions of consumer frustration. This allows QA teams to focus only on the problem calls, rather than searching for them randomly. It is a systematic control that reduces QA errors and compliance breaches to near-zero.
The implementation framework for a digital self-service portal is a three-part system designed to create a silent, 24/7 collection agent that operates with zero friction.
Frictionless Access: The portal must be mobile-first and require only basic, universally known information for a consumer to locate their account (e.g., account number or last four of SSN). Any complex login process will cause immediate abandonment.
Omnichannel Integration: The portal is not a passive website; it is the central call-to-action for all communications. Every letter, email, and text message must contain a direct, unique link that takes the consumer directly to their account page.
Automated Resolution: The portal must be empowered to resolve the account without human intervention. This is achieved by programming the system with pre-approved settlement offers and payment plan options based on the creditor’s rules, allowing the consumer to see their options and complete a payment in under two minutes, at any time of day or night.
This is not a contact form. It is a direct channel to the command center. For strategic engagements and portfolio liquidation, use the following secure channels.
Architecting liquidity events for Banks, Fintechs, and Agencies through Strategic Advisory, Portfolio Disposition, and AI-Driven Compliance.
