Two former directors in the collateralized debt obligation group at Deutsche Bank have resigned to set up a structured credit boutique. Gina LaVersa and Todd Kesselman left Deutsche Bank earlier this month to form Precision Capital Advisors in New York, which will seek to advise ultra high-net worth clients on their investments in structured credit assets.
LaVersa said CDOs are particularly attractive to high-net worth investors and endowments given the low yields currently offered by traditional products and the maturation of the CDO market. "It's an asset class and a structure that's become more familiar to investors. You're seeing more and more alternative investors looking at this asset class," she explained. LaVersa, who worked to line up buyers for CDOs at Deutsche Bank, added investors are underserved when it comes to independent advice on structured credit, and that they are allocating to CDOs from their alternative buckets. "The most sophisticated investors are looking for diversification and for yield," she summed up.
Precision Capital will line up its clients with suitable investments across the capital structure and in transactions that use all different types of underlying assets. It does not yet have any clients. LaVersa declined to discuss the fees it will charge. Her partner, Kesselman, had worked on the structuring side at Deutsche Bank. They reported to Brian Zeitlin, managing director and head of the CDO group. He did not return a call.
Sell-side officials have been circling new investors who are seeking to add yield to their alternative allocations (BW, 3/15).