The move from Viridian and CFS to provide personal advice in a scaled manner highlights a growing willingness within the industry to fix its own problems in lieu of waiting for the government.
Private markets are worth around $14 trillion globally, ASIC believes. It’s not sure, and that uncertainty hints at the wider problem – private markets, and their effect on public ones, is still largely a mystery.
Revolution expands investment team to meet growing demand
Revolution Asset Management, a specialist private debt manager under the Channel Capital stable, has announced new appointments to its investment team to meet growing demand from institutional and wholesale clients.
Lucie Bielczykova and Steve Sutinen will be joining the growing firm as assistant portfolio manager and portfolio manager respectively.
Established in 2017, Revolution has grown quickly in a short space of time, reporting $1.2 billion in commitments across its Private debt funds. The private debt sector has long been the domain of institutional investors, attracted to the low correlation with traditional asset classes and the generally higher income on offer.
Managing director Bob Sahota and co-founders Simon Petris and David Saija stepped out on their own in 2017 with a view to bringing this unique asset class to the wholesale or financial advisery sector, partnering with distribution and administration provider Channel Capital in the process.
The nature of the private debt market means that most capital is raised via ‘closed end’ funds and then deployed over months and years into appropriate investments. These investments are negotiated directly with individual borrowers, requiring significant due diligence expertise and experience.
The recent additions will contribute significantly to the group’s capabilities and growth plans, with Sutinen focusing on the asset-backed security portfolio, in a role ranging from the origination of deals to due diligence and ongoing monitoring of covenants. In her role as associate portfolio manager, Bielczykova will support the investment team by managing senior secured assets such as corporate and real estate loans along with other private asset-backed securities.
Both spent time at one Australia’s most respected fixed income managers, Challenger Financial Group (ASX: CGF) working alongside or in proximity to Sahota at some point. Sutinen joins from his current role at Bluestone APAC, managing a $7 billion portfolio of mortgages, while Bielczykova joins from asset consultant Jana.
Commenting on the new additions, Sahota said “they will be invaluable in driving investment performance and delivering on our portfolio objectives. We look forward to continuing to cultivate our business by building strong, trusted relationships with our investors and growing our footprint both domestically and in New Zealand.”
