DCI's approach is based on ideas with a long history
- the benefits of broad-scale diversification
- using the insights of option theory and information in markets (particularly equity markets) in the valuation of credit
- the quantification of credit risk at both the individual asset level and the portfolio level
- the implications of the range of credit risks and the dynamic nature of default probabilities on the management of credit risk
- the importance of separating out the effects of credit from interest rates