A team of six structuring and asset management professionals from the recently folded Westmoreland Capital Management are in talks with investment banks, boutiques and fund of fund managers to capitalize a new structuring and asset management venture. Jim Keegan, former head of asset management and cio at Westmoreland in New York, said the management team has strong asset management and structuring expertise and will apply this to develop and manage a wide array of products, including synthetic collateralized debt obligations. The team is considering several options including entering a joint venture, working as a subsidiary, or even joining a firm as employees, he said.
The team is adopting a flexible mandate for its product line, which in addition to including both cash and synthetic CDOs may also involve traditional asset management products such as funds and separate accounts, said Keegan. CDOs developed by the team may reference a wide variety of collateral including high-grade and high-yield debt as well as asset-backed securities, he added. Westmoreland had focused only on the development of synthetic collateralized debt obligations and closed after tightening spreads reduced arbitrage and made bringing their first deal to market unfeasible (DW, 6/23). Carter Rise, ceo and founder at Westmoreland, is not involved in the new venture.
Bret Costain, former head of structuring at Westmoreland, will work alongside Keegan in the venture. Keegan declined to specify how much capital the firm is looking to raise, and said that it is too early to say how many products, or what size deals, it expects to bring to market.
