Greg Mount, partner and head of structured credit marketing at Goldman Sachs, has resigned and is expected to start an alternative investment fund. Officials familiar with his move said the fund will be a buyer of structured credit securities, although they point out Mount has not made any final decisions yet.
Mount likely has some kind of non-compete clause and will probably be on the sidelines for a few months before he can actively solicit investments for his new fund, if he chooses to do so, according to an industry official. Still, the official added Mount is highly regarded and should be able to easily attract investors for a structured credit fund. "At this point if you can spell it, you can do it," quipped one researcher, referring to the creation of a hedge fund. Mount's resignation was first reported last Tuesday on BW's Web site (www.bondweek.com).
Mount was co-head of the entire structured product team at Goldman and assumed the role of head of structured product marketing within the last six months. It could not be determined if the change had any role in his resignation, although one CDO official said Mount had worked on the marketing side and the title change may just have been a more accurate reflection of his duties. Mount did not return a call to his home phone or e-mails. Goldman officials referred calls to Michael DuVally, spokesman. He declined comment.
Mount's resignation is regarded as unusual since the partner title is widely coveted at Goldman and those who get elevated to that level from managing director rarely walk away from it. But he's not the only well-known CDO sellsider to jump the fence in recent weeks. Jeff Herlyn and Mike Rosenberg, head of UBS' global CDO effort, recently left the firm to run an alternative investment fund (BW, 3/14).
