Mark Gold, managing director and portfolio manager at Trust Company of the West, will be leaving the firm in early March to set up his own shop. As first reported on the Credit Investment News Web site last week, he will be working with another well-established manager, but he could not discuss details of the new venture. Some investors said his partner will be Hillel Weinberger from Loews, but Gold would not comment. Weinberger could not be reached. Members of the TCW team will not be going to the new firm and Gold will not be taking the TCW collateralized loan obligations with him.
"I expect...to pursue a more broadly based opportunity outside of TCW," he said. "The primary focus, however, is working with TCW and my associates here to transition the business to the well established team that is in place."
Matthew Miller and Jonathan Insull, both managing directors and portfolio managers, will take over the day-to-day management, said Mark Attanasio, head of the leveraged finance group and chief investment officer for below investment grade fixed income. Miller has been at TCW since 2000 and Insull has been at TCW since 1997. Along with portfolio management, Gold provided strategic thinking and assisted with marketing, Attanasio said, so he anticipates becoming more involved in the consultation on the overall view of how to build the business. No key man provision will be triggered, he explained. "The parting is very amicable...I think the second generation of leadership fits what we are doing at TCW and I expect the standards set by Mark will be continued by Jon and Matt and our clients will continue to be served well," Attanasio said.
"While we can't discuss specifics, it will be business as usual in terms of fundraising at TCW," said Miller. "Jonathan and I are excited about the opportunity to continue the credit discipline and philosophy that has contributed to our group over the last 12 years. With the resources and support of the entire TCW organization, we are confident we will be able to deliver the same performance our clients have come to respect." Miller said he spoke with clients and the responses have been positive regarding the changes.
Attansasio said the firm will not replace and does not plan to add or recruit staff other than what was previously budgeted for. The firm, however, has been looking to add analysts and a bank trader, and has been interviewing candidates since the end of last year. He expects to fill those positions in the next 60-90 days.
"Our business is growing to a scale where I think it is useful to have a trader," Attanasio said. "As the bank debt area has become larger, more liquid and more transparent in terms of pricing, we think a trader can provide a function...and do what traders do, get the best execution by looking at various firms for bids and offers." He said the trader will only trade par loans the firm has a distressed trader within their distressed debt group in Los Angeles and will operate at the direction of the portfolio managers.
"We are looking for the right candidate," Miller explained. "The trader will be a first time hire for us, so it is important to get the right person." There are currently 57 professionals in the leveraged finance group and 12 in the bank debt group when Gold leaves. As of Dec. 31, assets under management or committed to management for the senior loan and bank debt group was $3.1 billion.
At TCW, Gold worked with Citigroup for two years to design and manage the first pro-rata transaction that launched in 2003. Prior to joining TCW in 1995, Gold was a managing director and principal at Crescent Capital Corp. responsible for the firm's senior lending activities. In 1993 he was one of the first managers to do a multi-asset hybrid cash flow securitization, Crescent/MACH. Before Crescent, he worked in Chancellor Capital Management's bank loan group, formerly Citicorp Investment Management. At Crescent, he was the first manager to do a CLO in 1990. It was a $1 billion securitization called ROSA B.V. He also worked as an investment banker in the mergers and acquisition group of Morgan Stanley.
