Contents

ABS

Agency mortgage paper looks good, says new report

Asset manager spotlights unusually attractive risk profile for MBS

Agency MBS, historically something of a niche investment, currently offer good returns versus investment grade (IG) paper in addition to low prepayment risk, according to a new report by global asset manager Janus Henderson.

In the face of much global uncertainty, agency MBS have made their best start to the year since 2020, with indices up between 3% and 4%. These securities usually trade rich to IG corporates as they have very limited credit risk, but since 2022 they have paid a premium.

Although finding exact maturity matches is challenging, five and six year MBS, incorporating the newer 6% and 7% loans, are dealing at around 130bp to Treasuries while IG corporates yield about plus 90bp.

“In our view, the current valuation environment presents investors with an attractive relative value trade and a potentially lucrative entry point into MBS,” notes the report.

At the same time, prepayment risk is low. Negative convexity is also usually a concern for MBS buyers, but with 30-year mortgage rates around 7% at the moment a drop of 200bp or more is required before refinancing starts to make sense for home owners. In the past, a 50bp or 100bp drop in rates would generally have been enough to bring prepayment risk into play.

The bulk mortgages currently in the market were put on during the period of very low rates of 5% or less in 2020 and 2021.

People often say to us, ‘With mortgages you get prepays, duration shortens, you never really get what is advertised.’ This is a legitimate concern, but what we’re saying is that less than 10% of the market can be refinanced at the moment,” John Kerschner, head of US securitized products, portfolio manager and one the report’s authors, told SCI.

While the IG market has enjoyed healthy a demand and supply technical lately, it has been rather more sloppy in the agency MBS market, which has allowed yields to rise. The biggest buyers of agency MBS and banks, and both have had a softer bid for paper. The Fed is still in the throes of quantitative tightening of course, and between US$15bn and US$20bn rolls off its portfolio every month.

Lingering concern about the possibility of increased punitive regulation in the wake of bank failures two years ago, in addition to bank capital rules, have kept banks on the sidelines of the market as well. “They have been buying but not by as much. It’s a bit surprising seeing how cheap they are,” says Kerschner.

Finally, the US MBS market is complex and idiosyncratic, combining the unique features of the 30-year fixed rate mortgage and an implicit government guarantee. It’s not a market for the occasional bargain hunter, so the pool of potential buyers is limited.

But for those who know the market, the stars are aligned. “The bottom line is you’re getting paid a nice spread to Treasuries to sit here and clip that coupon. Even if we do go into recession, it’s not necessarily the worst case scenario as you don’t have credit risk,” says Kerschner.

Simon Boughey

Structured Finance

SCI In Conversation Podcast: Scott Frame, Bank Policy Institute

We discuss the hottest topics in securitisation today...

In this episode of SCI In Conversation, Scott Frame, senior vice president and deputy head of research, at the Bank Policy Institute in Washington DC, talks to US editor Simon Boughey about how post-GFC regulation capped growth in the securitisation market and what types of beneficial changes might emanate from the current administration. 

This episode can be accessed here, as well as wherever you usually get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify (just search for 'SCI In Conversation').

Simon Boughey

Asset-Backed Finance

Forward flow appetite grows in real estate ABF

LibreMax backs Legacy with US$180m ABF facility amid surge in real estate forward flows

As real estate lenders seek deeper institutional partnerships to scale short-term credit platforms, structured credit investors are increasingly stepping in with tailored ABF funding. LibreMax Capital’s US$180m facility with Legacy Group Capital is the latest in a growing line of forward flow arrangements bridging the gap between private lending and securitisation-style structuring.

Legacy Group Capital has secured the US$180m forward flow facility from LibreMax Capital to support its expansion across new markets and products. The 18-month revolving facility is expected to fund up to US$400m of short-term real estate lending - and marks the firm’s first institutional capital partnership.

The deal reflects Legacy’s move to diversify its funding base and bring on an institutional investor capable of scaling with the business, as it ramps up lending in a US-housing market defined by high demand and limited supply.

“There is a massive housing shortage in the US and new construction is growing across various markets in the US,” comments Ed Messman, cio at Legacy Group Capital. “We chose to expand into four new states in 2024 and as a result are seeing good growth in those markets.”

The deal is structured as a forward flow with an 18-month revolving period and a ‘recycling mechanism’ - allowing the firm to reinvest principal repayments into new originations overtime.

“The revolving period allows us to reuse capital as loans pay off, meaning we can originate more loans using the same committed amount,” explains Messman. “It’s well-suited to the natural repayment cycle of short-term real estate credit and helps us maintain momentum without needing to constantly raise new capital.”

The facility is set to support the funding of construction loans – for both business and consumer purposes, bridge loans, and rehab loans. Although concentration limits are in place, Messman considers the structure to remain “flexible across all our products and markets,” which currently include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Utah.

The facility builds on Messman’s longstanding relationship with the LibreMax team, with the parties reportedly working on this deal together over the past nine months.  Legacy’s origination model targets short-duration, real estate-backed loans in the ‘residential transition’ space - a segment that is drawing growing interest from ABF investors seeking looking for scalable credit exposure.

“They saw strength in our performance, origination discipline, and vertically integrated platform,” adds Messman. “This partnership reflects an increasing interest in short-duration, real estate backed credit that can offer scale.”

While not a traditional securitisation, the deal reflects many characteristics typical of modern ABF transactions - from dynamic advance rates and portfolio monitoring to future potential for securitisation-style takeouts. Messman confirmed the facility was “structured with growth in mind,” with the firm intending to increase its capacity in the near future.

“We’re also actively exploring additional partnerships that align with our capital markets strategy, especially those that help us scale across regions and product lines,” he notes.

The new facility is an important part of Legacy’s long-term capital markets strategy. “It’s an essential piece of a long-term plan to diversify our funding sources and increase lending resiliency. It complements our mix of retail investor capital and bank credit lines, making our capital stack more balanced and better equipped to grow with market demand,” explains Messman.

Legacy currently manages approximately US$300m in assets across more than 1,200 investors, and expects the new facility to help accelerate its expansion into new geographies, product lines and wholesale partnerships.

Claudia Lewis

Capital Relief Trades

EC proposes 'serious' adjustments to the CRR and SecReg

Leaked drafts point towards 'consistent and predictable' SRT framework

This week, two draft documents from the European Commission (EC) regarding proposed adjustments to the CRR and Securitisation Regulation were leaked. The picture that has emerged thus far is largely positive. Nevertheless, market sources warn that the devil remains in the detail.  

The prevailing regulatory atmosphere in Europe is one of simplifying and reducing the burden for both investors and issuers active in the securitisation market. Both of the leaked EC documents generally emphasise that the current regulatory experience and framework is too conservative and limits the potential use of resilient securitisations in the EU. 

Specifically regarding SRTs, the CRR draft heavily cites the 2020 EBA Report on SRT and identifies the following (and well known) issues or limitations: issues related to the interpretation of quantitative thresholds and measures within the CRR mechanistic tests; problems with the qualitative "commensurateness test", for which the CRR only provides high-level criteria; the absence of a uniform and directly applicable process to be used by competent authorities for assessing SRT; specific structural features of synthetic securitisations that may be detrimental to complying with SRT requirements on a continuous basis; the effect of the output floor on risk transfer; framework limitations that have contributed to uncertainty for the market and delays in the assessment of some securitisation transactions; and unjustified inconsistencies in SRT outcomes and capital calculations in the SRT treatment of securitisations, compared to comparable characteristics across member states. 

The draft’s proposed and targeted amendments towards a “more consistent and predictable” SRT framework include the replacement of the current mechanistic tests with a new Principle-Based Approach (PBA) test. This PBA test requires the originator to retain at least 50% of the risk exposures of the underlying portfolio of the securitisation transaction to third parties and to submit a mandatory self-assessment to the supervisor demonstrating that significant risk transfer has occurred, including a stress analysis.

This self-assessment should provide a cashflow model analysis and offer evidence of the transfer's sustainability over the securitisation's life. It should also demonstrate how the lifetime expected losses and unexpected losses of the securitised exposures are allocated to the positions of the transaction; increased supervisory flexibility; and harmonisation of supervisory SRT assessment. 

‘Resilient position’ concept introduced

Additionally, the draft mentions that the risk of regulatory arbitrage is mitigated by the "resilience" requirement on the maximum thickness of the senior position for resilient positions, and for other positions, by the new PBA test. 

Another impactful factor in the further development of the SRT market concerns STS securitisations. In this context, the EC adopts a supportive, yet limited approach.

In writing, the EC wants to enable (re)insurance undertakings to participate meaningfully in the STS on-balance sheet market. Specifically, to enhance reinsurance and reinsurance undertakings' participation in the STS on-balance sheet market, the eligibility criteria for credit protections in Article 26c(8) are modified. However, the document fails to explicitly list the detailed technical changes to Article 26c(8).

Further proposals or alterations to be expected for STS securitisations include: risk weight floors for senior positions (the current framework has a fixed 10% risk weight floor for senior positions of STS transactions and the proposal introduces a new concept of a risk-sensitive risk weight floor); calibration of the p-factor (introducing more risk sensitivity, addressing excessive non-neutrality and reducing the conservativeness of the standardised approach (SEC-SA)); a new concept of "resilient securitisation positions" (introduced for senior positions that meet specific eligibility criteria to ensure low agency and model risk and robust loss-absorbing capacity); and differentiated capital treatment criteria (article 243 of the CRR will now specify two sets of criteria for differentiated capital treatment: existing STS criteria for STS capital treatment and new 'resilience' criteria for securitisations to qualify for more beneficial capital treatment). 

While these proposals remain in a draft format, overall, the tone suggests that this is not a case of merely ‘tweaking’ the regulations here and there. Policymakers appear serious and focused on ensuring that the supervisory framework is fit for a growing EU securitisation market. 

Vincent Nadeau

CLOs

Muzinich launches European CLO business, building on US track record with Eagle Point

New initiative aims to replicate US success with regular issuance, conservative credit strategy, and local expertise

Muzinich & Co has today announced the expansion of its CLO platform into Europe, by continuing its strategic partnership with Eagle Point Credit Management, a specialist in CLO equity and private credit strategies.

The expansion marks the latest milestone in Muzinich’s CLO push, which began with Eagle Point in late 2021, with a focus of issuing broadly syndicated loans in the US. Since then Muzinich’s affiliate - 1988 Asset Management - has priced and closed six US CLOs totalling US$2.5bn.

Eagle Point’s experience in navigating complex market environments provides significant value in timing CLO launches, and more generally in enhancing its ability to execute with precision and scale in the US market, Muzinich & Co notes.

"The 1988 CLO program has become widely recognised in the market as a leading boutique CLO collateral manager. We are excited to help support bringing that same model of strong CLO management to the European market,” says Thomas Majewski, founder and managing partner at Eagle Point, in a statement.

Apart from necessary structural differences to account for regulatory and market nuances, the core pillars of the extended partnership into Europe will remain the same as the US.

“Strategically, the European platform will closely mirror our US predecessor focusing on regular CLO issuance, high-quality loan investing, a low weighted average rating factor (WARF) strategy, and a conservative credit profile,” a spokesperson from Muzinich & Co tells SCI.

Given the current stability in the European loan market, coupled with growing investor demand for euro-denominated floating-rate exposure, Muzinich & Co tells SCI the firm felt it was the right time to expand into the European CLO space now.

“That said, entering any new market comes with challenges—including navigating differing regulatory frameworks, managing relative liquidity differences, and building local investor engagement. However, our proven platform, strong partnership with Eagle Point, and commitment to conservative, high-quality investing position us well for long-term success in Europe,” Muzinich & Co states.

In addition to its 120 investment professionals based in the US, Europe, and Asia, Muzinich’s platform is supported by a team of 27 credit analysts who will support the project's aim to create a strong, multi-year pipeline for European CLO issuance, the firm says.

This expansion into Europe follows that of Arcano Partners who launched a CLO platform following a €150 million capital raise for CLO equity investments in December.

Similarly, in November last year Christian Grane, the former head of investments at Accunia Credit Management, told SCI he is aiming to launch a dedicated European CLO equity investment platform in the second or third quarter of this year. 

Solomon Klappholz

Asset-Backed Finance

Crayhill eyes expansion after closing US$1.3bn ABF fund

ABF platform to scale with fresh capital and a growing pipeline as insurers fuel demand amid annuity boom

Crayhill Capital Management is seeking to expand its horizons after closing its third ABF fund at US$1.31bn last month, including US$162m in co-invest commitments. The close marks a major milestone amid rising insurer demand for long-duration, yield-generating assets that is driving increased institutional interest across the ABF space.

"Achieving the milestone of raising over US$1bn with repeat investors demonstrates the market’s confidence in Crayhill’s platform and ability to scale opportunistic asset-backed portfolios,” says Crayhill’s co-founder and managing partner Carlos Mendez.

More than 75% of the fund’s capital is already allocated to investments, with half drawn. The oversubscribed close of Fund III proves that Crayhill’s approach resonates with institutional LPs, including pensions, endowments and insurers.

Crayhill was founded in the wake of the GFC, when co-founders Carlos Mendez and Joshua Eaton – then at hedge fund Magnetar Capital – saw a gap in the market: asset-heavy, capital-light companies underserved by traditional lenders.

“Our approach of financing portfolios of loans, leases and receivables leverages structured finance securitisation methodologies common in public ABS markets. Lenders, lessors and other asset originators without a balance sheet require capital to fund assets and our capital provides a flexible alternative to public securitisation,” explains Mendez.

While ABF has become a buzzword over the past couple of years, Crayhill has stuck to asset-backed finance fundamentals: financing cash-flowing assets while employing structures that emphasise downside protection and perfected collateral liens.

“We incorporate a loan-to-value calculus first,” highlights Mendez. “If there’s no over collateralisation, we’re not interested.”

In practice, that translates to exposure to real and financial assets such as non-QM mortgage portfolios with tight LTV controls, solar and renewable energy projects backed by PPAs, real estate portfolios structured via Delaware trusts, royalty streams, media rights and other niche asset pools.

“We always ask three things: what’s the LTV of our investment to the assets? What’s the inherent cashflow of the portfolio? And, how do we amortise our exposure over the term of our financing, typically 4-5 years?” he says.

Crayhill now oversees US$3bn in AUM and has deployed over US$4bn across more than 50 deals, making it one of the largest independent pure-play ABF platforms in the US.

“As one of only a handful of specialised teams with over a decade-long ABF track record, if you’re an institutional investor allocating to this space, you’re likely to want to understand how we see the current opportunity set,” says Mendez.

Furthermore, Crayhill’s capital is deliberately flexible. The firm often commits US$100m, often drawn over time in a manner that scales with asset originators and developers through co-investment structures.

“We grow with originators,” he explains. “If they exceed the initial allocation, we can expand our facilities to keep up.”

Insurance demand and the annuity boom

The demand behind this growing asset-backed wave is driven by tectonic demographic shifts: ageing populations in the US and Europe, and the corresponding surge in annuity products from insurers. To match those future liabilities, insurers need durable, long-duration, yielding assets – and they’re often turning to ABF to find them.

“High-quality, low risk-weighted ABF assets match well with the liabilities of a variety of investment-linked insurance products, such as multi-year guaranteed annuities,” says Mendez.

The firm’s captive access to newly originated, performing assets are attractive for fast-growing insurance companies seeking to predictably secure ABF portfolios.

As a partner-owned asset manager, Crayhill is able to customise solutions for insurance company asset-liability performance targets and help drive new policy origination. “Insurers aren’t just chasing returns – they’re chasing the ability to manufacture stable spread at scale that is resilient in a variety of market conditions,” he adds.

Looking ahead, Crayhill eyes the expansion of its platform alongside the broader maturation of the ABF space.

“Over the next few years, new ABF-focused firms will surely emerge,” says Mendez. “It is astonishing how wide open the private lending landscape is for asset-based strategies.”

While Crayhill’s broader growth is already in motion, the immediate focus remains on fully deploying Fund III.

“Fund III’s mandate places us in a great position to take advantage of the current tariff-rates-inflation driven market disruptions and subsequent need for reliable capital solutions,” says Mendez. “Our specialised platform ensures we will be afforded the chance to capture future ABF growth opportunities to significantly scale our business over the long term.”

Marta Canini

Capital Relief Trades

Setting the scene

Ahead of her panel appearance at FT Live Fixed Income Events' Global ABS in Barcelona next month, Sara McGinty, partner at Ares Alternative Credit, shares her insights on the evolution of the SRT market. McGinty tells SCI where she sees the greatest potential for growth and innovation, how macro and regulatory shifts are shaping issuer behaviour, and what is needed to take the US market to the next stage.

 Q: The Global ABS Conference is just around the corner – which SRT topics or panels are you most looking forward to?  

 A: We are always interested in asset classes experiencing significant growth, such as digital infrastructure and fund finance. We are also very focused on the geopolitical environment and the effects of tariffs and/or a potential recession on the global consumer.  

 Q: The SRT space continues to experience notable momentum this year. Which jurisdictions do you expect to gain more prominence in the coming months and what is driving that growth?  

 A: Given that the launch of SRTs in the US is still in its early stages, we expect this will continue to be an area of growth – despite the outlook for lower rates or potential regulatory easing under the new administration.  

 Q: How are current macroeconomic conditions – including interest rates and credit cycle concerns – shaping SRT issuance trends?  

 A: While the current macro and regulatory environment might dampen the overall capital needs for SRT issuance in the US, banks still want to set up these programs to use SRTs as one of the tools in their balance sheet management. SRTs can take different forms and address various needs – such as balance sheet expansion, hedging, and capital relief. In fact, economic uncertainty may encourage banks to use all forms of capital relief and partner with private capital to grow or maintain their lending to key clients as volatility continues.  

 Q: Within the SRT landscape, where do you anticipate the most significant growth or innovation in the next 12–18 months?  

 A: The SRT technology itself is the innovation – and it’s here to stay in the US. We expect to see more banks using SRTs, as many of the larger institutions are still working on their first transaction. From there, growth will come as banks expand the use of this technology across different asset classes on their balance sheets.  

Q: How is the Basel III Endgame framework influencing issuer behaviour today?  

A: It remains unclear what the final Basel III Endgame will look like. The consensus seems to be that regulation will be less restrictive than originally anticipated. However, we still believe the US will be a growth market for SRTs, as banks are just beginning to use this technology to optimize their balance sheets. While the pace may be slower than initially expected, the direction of travel is still forward. Banks continue to use SRTs to manage parts of their balance sheets with high risk-weighted assets – particularly in portfolios tied to lending in growth areas like private credit – and need to keep up with that pace of expansion.  

 While early US SRT transactions were primarily driven by acute capital and liquidity pressures, banks are now recognizing the broader value of the technology and the increase in private capital available to support it. More recently, we’ve seen banks using SRTs to expand market activity in sectors where they see opportunity – partnering with firms like Ares to grow market share while managing balance sheet exposures. Much like securitization, SRTs offer long-term strategic benefits to banks, and we believe they’re here to stay. The partnerships being established today between banks and private capital are likely to lead to more activity – not less – in the future.  

 Q: Are there any asset classes you think are underexplored or ripe for growth?  

 A: Digital infrastructure, BDC revolvers, and fund finance.  

 Q: How do you view the evolution of investor appetite in the SRT space, particularly as more LPs and private credit managers enter the market?  

 A: Investor appetite has come in waves – particularly in the US, where the SRT market is only about two years old. It’s not surprising to see such a sharp rise in interest for a relatively new market, especially in areas offering attractive risk-adjusted returns. When the market first opened in 2023, asset classes like prime auto, capital calls, and investment-grade corporates looked compelling. At that stage, the process was targeted at larger, experienced asset managers, where execution certainty and strategic partnership were critical.  

 As the market has matured, and more entrants and dedicated capital have come in, our appetite has shifted toward larger transactions in high-quality asset classes where we see relative value compared to the broader opportunity set. If that doesn’t exist, we pivot to non-SRT investments. That said, a lot of capital has been raised specifically for SRT strategies – and it needs to be deployed – so broader investor appetite is likely here to stay for some time.  

 Q: As an active participant in this space, what would you like to see more of – across issuers, investors, or even regulators – to help the market mature further?  

A: More guidance from regulators to the banks is always helpful in developing a market. Regulatory clarity gives banks a level of certainty that should encourage higher levels of issuance from here. 

Nadezhda Bratanova 

ABS

Reed Smith builds structured finance practice

New partner to spearhead push in esoterics and others

Reed Smith recruited Jeffrey Stern as a partner in its Financial Industry Group, based in New York, last July and his hire is part of a broader push to position the firm as one of the leading structured finance practice.

“In a couple of years we expect to see Reed Smith recognized as one of the major global players in the structured finance space. There is a lot of talent here and we have global reach. There is an opportunity to turn this team into a true industry heavyweight,” Stern told SCI.

He left Winston & Strawn after almost ten years and explains that the opportunity to build up a structured finance at a firm with a London office and extensive international coverage was attractive to him.

“If you draw together what we have in London, New York and Paris, our team starts to present as one of the bigger practices in the market, with exceptionally broad coverage. We have a terrific platform, and Reed Smith has been acquisitive, attracting and adding people in areas we want to build out,” he adds.

Esoteric structured finance products are singled out as one of the areas of distinguishing strength for the firm. “We are pushing to become the leader in a range of key assets classes, from litigation funding, to C-PACE, to bespoke equipment leasing and transportation finance, to oil and gas securitization,” he says.

Perhaps inevitably he sees the data centre market as one of likely significant growth in the esoteric market, and also notes that there has been a resurgence of aircraft financing, though the latter has run into headwinds recently as a result of general uncertainty surrounding tariffs.

Other areas of likely strength for the structured finance practice at Reed Smith are CLOs, CFOs, transportation and CMBS.

“We have been searching for topflight talent with CLO and ABS experience to complement our existing global structured finance capabilities,” said global co-chair of the Financial Industry Group, Jodi Schwimmer.

Simon Boughey

Structured Finance

Job swaps weekly: Lane42 names senior execs for new strategy launch

People moves and key promotions in securitisation

This week’s roundup of securitisation job swaps sees Lane42 Investment Partners naming six senior executives to spearhead the launch of its capital opportunities investment strategy. Elsewhere, K&L Gates has promoted a structured finance partner to global managing partner, while DunPort Capital Management has followed the launch of its strategic partnership with Vertis Capital Partners by making three senior leadership appointments. 

Lane42 Investment Partners has appointed six investment professionals, who - alongside founder, ceo and cio Scott Graves - will lead the launch of the firm's capital opportunities investment strategy. This strategy seeks to source and execute investments across public and private credit markets, including bespoke capital solutions, event-driven situations and other special opportunities. 

The new appointments comprise co-founders Damon Fisher, Rob Ruberton and Kaj Vazales, as well as partners David Bernfeld and Trevor Winstead, and principal Joe Scheuer. 

Fisher will act as chief legal officer, having previously been a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, focused on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, financings and restructurings. Based in the Santa Monica office, he joined Lane42 at its launch and serves on the executive committee. 

Ruberton, who is set to join Lane42 in late November and be based in the New York office, and Vazales – who will be based in the Santa Monica office – both take on the role of portfolio manager. The former was most recently with Apollo Global Management, where he was a partner and co-head of hybrid value, and the latter was md and co-head of North America distressed opportunities at Oaktree Capital Management. 

Bernfeld was previously a portfolio head at Citadel, focused on principal investments and opportunistic credit, while Winstead was most recently an md with Oak Hill Advisors, where he helped lead hybrid, special situations and distressed investing, as well as strategic opportunities. The pair will be based in the New York office. 

Finally, Scheuer previously focused on opportunistic credit and special situations investing at Oaktree Capital Management. He is based in the Santa Monica office. 

Graves has more than 30 years of experience in public and private credit and equity investing. He was most recently co-head of Ares Management’s private equity group and portfolio manager and head of the Ares Special Opportunities funds. 

Founded in March 2025, Lane42 was seeded with a US$2bn capital commitment and a minority equity investment from affiliates of Millennium Management. Additional investment and executive hires are anticipated as the firm continues to grow and scale. 

Meanwhile, K&L Gates has named veteran structured finance lawyer Stacy Ackermann as global managing partner, based in Charlotte. The appointment is part of a wider succession strategy that also sees Rick Giovannelli appointed co-chair of the management committee alongside incumbent chair Michael Caccese, before he transitions to chair at the end of June 2026. 

Ackermann has been a partner at K&L since joining the firm in 2012, and is succeeding outgoing managing partner Jim Segerdahl, who announced earlier this year that he would not be seeking a third term. Though her practice spans multiple financial and credit market transactions, Ackermann primarily focuses on structured finance including commercial mortgage-backed and CRE CLO securitisation transactions. She previously spent seven years at Alston & Bird and four years at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein.

DunPort Capital Management has made three senior leadership appointments following a new strategic partnership with UK-based alternative investment firm Vertis Capital Partners. 

Ralf Ackermann, co-founder of Vertis, has joined DunPort’s investment committee. Henrik Matsen, founder of Henry Costa Partners, Vertis’ affiliate merchant bank, has been appointed to DunPort’s board of directors. Also joining the board is Dermot Browne, former ceo of Aviva Ireland and a senior executive at Zurich Insurance, who takes on the role of independent non-executive director.  

As part of the deal, Vertis has taken a minority stake in the Dublin-based firm, with scope to increase it based on agreed milestones. The partnership supports DunPort’s European private credit expansion and ongoing fundraising for its fourth vehicle, Willow Corporate Credit DAC, targeting up to €1bn in commitments. 

Hayfin has appointed Raj Paranandi as coo, succeeding Mark Tognolini, who has assumed the role of co-ceo alongside fellow founder Tim Flynn. Based at the firm’s London headquarters, Paranandi joins Hayfin from MarketAxess, where he served as coo of EMEA and APAC. Prior to this, he spent 10 years in leadership positions at UBS and he comes with over 25 years of experience in financial services. 

Aegon Asset Management has named Frank Meijer cio. Based in Amsterdam, Meijer was previously global head of alternative fixed income and structured finance at the firm, which he joined in October 2005 as a structured investments analyst. 

JPMorgan has appointed Jake Pollack head of North America credit trading and global credit financing, based in New York. He was previously md and global head of credit financing, responsible for the firm’s private credit financing, CLO primary, broadly syndicated loan financing and direct lending teams. Pollack joined JPMorgan in August 2004 as a credit analyst. 

Sona Asset Management has hired Karim Kassam as md for its capital solutions strategy, based in London. He was previously md at Centerbridge Partners, which he joined in February 2022. Before that, Kassam was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, having begun his career at Freshfields. 

M&G Investments has hired José Rivero Navarro as associate director, based in Madrid, as part of the ongoing expansion of its structured credit research team. Rivero Navarro rejoins M&G following three years at Santander Asset Management, where he most recently held the title of investment professional in the alternative investments team. He previously spent two years as an investment credit analyst focusing on consumer ABS and fixed income in M&G’s London office and had spells working at Moody's Investor Service and Credit Suisse. Rivero Navarro will report to M&G's London-based head of structured credit, Tim Morris, and focus on supporting the firm's investments in Spain and continental Europe. 

And finally, Kartesia has appointed Duncan Browne as head of investor relations. Based in London, Browne will report to Laurent Bouvier, managing partner, and work closely with Xavier Bertrand, head of private wealth solutions. Browne’s experience in private markets, corporate strategy and investor relations will be key as Kartesia continues to expand its global investor base across all strategies, the firm said. 

Corinne Smith, Marta Canini, Kenny Wastell, Ramla Soni