The Structured Credit Interview
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Global goals
Chris Whitcombe, head of European and US ABS at Challenger I...
Q: Challenger IM recently launched its first securitisation-only investment fund – the Challenger IM Global ABS Fund (SCI 1 November). What makes now the right time?
The Structured Credit Interview 20 November 2023
A: At Challenger IM, we manage assets for leading global and Australian institutions. We have been actively investing in ABS since 2005, including the private ABS market for the last decade. So, although .......
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Value covered
LibreMax Capital cio Greg Lippmann and ABS head Kevin Tyler...
Q: How has the evolution of the banking system and regulatory environment over time shaped private credit markets?
The Structured Credit Interview 16 November 2023
GL: Before the global financial crisis (GFC), there were certain aggressive financial products which enabled consumers to become overleveraged, as well as light bank capital charges for investment bank holdings of structured products, which ultimately brought Lehman Brothers to default and spurred .......
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Ares flies high
Top alt credit investor predicts CRT boom
Ares Management, founded in 1997, is a leading investor in alternative credit products. It has US$395bn under management, of which some US$32bn, or a little under 10%, is invested in alternative credit. It recently closed Pathfinder II, one of its alternative credit funds devoted to illiquid instruments, with US$6.6bn in commitments, measurably more than the US$5bn target. It is also almost .......
The Structured Credit Interview 14 November 2023
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A global market
Matthew Moniot, co-head of credit risk sharing at Man GPM, answers SCI's questions
Q: Could you tell us about your recent move to Man GPM?
A: We joined Man Group in 2022, from Elanus Capital, the firm I founded back in 2010. By 2020 two things were apparent. Firstly the SRT market had grown significantly and was starting to attract large, institutional managers and secondly, technology, an area of focus at Elanus, would be an .......
The Structured Credit Interview 8 November 2023
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Starting strong
Leland Hart, portfolio manager and cio of performing credit...
Q: Warwick Capital Partners closed its inaugural BSL CLO transaction – the US$400m Warwick Capital CLO 1 – last month. As a new entrant, how does Warwick’s strategy compare to that of existing managers in the market?
The Structured Credit Interview 16 October 2023
A: It’s a pretty seminal time in the CLO market – when risk retention reared its head in the US and Europe and .......
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Saying hi to HEI
Cara Newman, head of structured finance at Hometap, answers SCI's questions
Q: Hometap, the home equity investment (HEI) fintech, is expanding into the structured finance market (SCI 7 July). What are Hometap’s motivations behind entering the securitisation market, and why now?
The Structured Credit Interview 9 October 2023
A: For Hometap, it's always about supporting homeowners and fulfilling our mission on their behalf. We view a strong structured finance capability as an important avenue to the capital .......
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Rhapsody in retail
CMBS offers liquidity for non-mall retail borrowers
Since the restrictions imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic and probably before, the US commercial real estate (CRE) sector has by and large been in the doldrums. But experienced CRE investors can find value and remain funded by a combination of traditional bank loans and CMBS financing.
Gary Rappaport is nothing if not experienced: he has been a CRE investor in the .......
The Structured Credit Interview 19 September 2023
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Entrepreneurial spirit
Colin Reddy, md, head of financial institutions and advisory at Howden CAP, answers SCI's questions
Q: You joined Howden CAP in April from Mizuho, where you executed a number of strategic capital and balance sheet transactions for the firm’s clients (SCI 12 April). What attracted you to move to the insurance side of the risk transfer market?
The Structured Credit Interview 9 June 2023
A: I began my career in insurance, but I have spent the last 20 years in banking .......
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Best interests
Eric Brown, head of Performance Trust's Institutional Group, answers SCI's questions
Q: Performance Trust announced its entry into the CLO market with the creation of its new CLO trading desk last month (SCI 11 April). What makes now the right time?
The Structured Credit Interview 9 May 2023
A: CLOs are something that we’ve been looking into for quite some time now and figuring out the right time for us to get involved isn’t necessarily market-based, but .......
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Highs, lows and CLOs
John Kim, Panagram ceo and portfolio manager of CLOZ, answers SCI's questions
Q: What can you tell us about the launch of Panagram’s new actively managed CLO ETF (CLOZ) (SCI 25 January)?
The Structured Credit Interview 17 February 2023
A: We’re very excited about our ETF (CLOZ) because it brings CLO opportunity to the retail market. Ultimately, we are trying to make it easy for retail investors to enjoy the benefits of CLOs that institutional investors have enjoyed .......
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Book building
Peter Polanskyj, senior md and head of structured credit at Obra Capital, answers SCI's questions
Q: Vida Capital recently rebranded to Obra Capital (SCI 16 December 2022). Could you explain why this signifies an important milestone for the firm?
The Structured Credit Interview 30 January 2023
A: Rebranding was a natural step for the firm. Vida – which means ‘life’ in Spanish - was historically a life settlements investment firm. However, the firm is now focusing on diversifying its investment mandate, .......
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The perils of interest rate risk
A structured finance investor talks the big 2023 themes
Karlis Ulmanis is a portfolio manager at DuPont Capital in Delaware, which has total AUM of $20.1bn. The core fixed income portfolio is worth $1.3bn, and Karlis manages the $550m securitized debt section comprised of CMBS and RMBS. He manages these assets against structured products sub-index of the Bloomberg USA Bond Index.
This week SCI asked him where he sees value at .......
The Structured Credit Interview 20 January 2023
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Where's the money?
Top agency MBS buyer talks value at the start of 2023
Brendan Doucette is a portfolio manager with GW&K Investment Management, based in Boston, which manages around $5bn in taxable fixed income assets. Of this, some $1.4bn is invested in the agency MBS market.
SCI caught up with him last week to see how he views the market and likely developments at the start of 2023.
Q: Hi Brendan, nice to talk to you .......
The Structured Credit Interview 17 January 2023
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Less dilutive
Dan Trolio, executive svp and cfo of Horizon Technology Finance Corporation, answers SCI's questions
Q: Horizon recently completed a US$158m ABS - Horizon Funding Trust 2022-1 - backed by non-investment grade performing loans advanced to venture capital-backed companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and sustainability industries. DBRS Morningstar assigned a single-A rating to the US$100m class A notes, which bear interest at a fixed interest rate of 7.56% per annum and .......
The Structured Credit Interview 25 November 2022
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Reaching milestones
John Beacham, ceo and founder of Toorak Capital Partners, answers SCI's questions
Q: Toorak recently hit a US$10bn milestone in whole loan funding for housing rehab and construction since its inception in 2016. What does this mean to your company?
The Structured Credit Interview 24 October 2022
A: We’re extremely proud of hitting this milestone and excited for many more to celebrate in the future. When we first started Toorak, we saw an opportunity to provide stable, long-term capital to .......
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Conservative approach
Aeon Investments ceo Oumar Diallo and coo Ben Churchill answer SCI's questions
Q: Aeon recently announced the closing of its first commercial real estate CLO warehouse (SCI 12 October) with Credit Suisse. Could you provide some background to the decision to become a CRE CLO issuer?
OD: We’re active across the real estate spectrum and seek relative value opportunities in the UK and Europe.The European CRE CLO market has .......
The Structured Credit Interview 21 October 2022
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Keeping it competitive
Greystone's Jenna Unell, senior md in special servicing, and...
Q: Greystone recently purchased its first primary B-piece in a US$1.09bn conduit CMBS. What makes now the right time to enter this market?
The Structured Credit Interview 11 October 2022
RR: We purchased what was C-III Asset Management at the end of 2019, just before the pandemic, and we are working towards growing that business - which was special servicing. The best way to grow that business .......
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Adapting to change
Adam Zausmer, chief credit officer at Ready Capital, answers SCI's questions
Q: Ready Capital and Starz Real Estate recently formed a joint venture to originate around €300m of new commercial real estate loans over the next two years (SCI 21 July). What prompted the move? What is currently exciting to you in European CRE?
The Structured Credit Interview 26 September 2022
A: It was a great opportunity to further expand and diversify Ready Capital’s international lending business. .......
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Branching out
Thomas Majewski, managing partner and founder of Eagle Point...
Q: Eagle Point recently announced its expansion into the ABS, MBS and SRT markets, which will be led by Karan Chabba as head of ABS, MBS, SRT and speciality finance (SCI 19 July). What were the motivations behind branching out into these markets?
The Structured Credit Interview 15 September 2022
A: In terms of relative interest, the order we are looking at these is SRT, ABS .......
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Insurance assurance
Christopher Freeze, senior md and head of investor relations...
Q: Churchill closed its inaugural collateralised fund obligation (CFO) last month. The US$700m transaction will invest across the firm’s flagship private capital fund strategies. What were the drivers behind the launch of the deal?
The Structured Credit Interview 22 August 2022
A: At Churchill, we are a solutions-oriented firm solving for investor needs. We asked ourselves: how can we introduce insurance company investors to the full array .......
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Quantifi considers
Quantifi founder Q&A on 20th anniversary of firm
Quantifi, the provider of risk, analytics and trading solutions, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Founder and ceo Rohan Douglas started the firm from his attic in New Jersey in 2002, after prior senior credit derivatives research positions at Citigroup and Salomon.
Structured credit has been at the heart of what Quantifi does and SCI caught up with Rohan to talk about the changes .......
The Structured Credit Interview 24 June 2022