The LSTA named new members to its board of directors and outlined its goals for the year at its annual meeting last Tuesday. Scott Krase, co-portfolio manager at Oak Hill Advisors who was re-elected as the association's chairman, said the LSTA hopes to grow its institutional investor membership and educate the market on the association during 2006. Key issues it will focus on include the use of material non-public information and trading loan credit default swaps.
Krase stressed that growing the institutional investor base would be a priority and put the onus on board members to reach out to the buyside. At the end of 2004, the LSTA was comprised of 39 institutional investors. As of Jan.17, it had 54 buysiders. He explained that material non-public information will become an "increasingly important issue [in 2006]." Also high on the priority list will be standardizing a loan CDS documentation product, which a group of banks have been working on for the past few months.
Jonathan Calder of Citigroup was re-elected as vice chairman, Jack Yang of Highland Capital Management was newly elected as a vice chair and Eric Chilton of Barclays Capital, was re-elected as secretary and treasurer.
Bram Smith of Bear Stearns and Jim Seery of Lehman Brothers have been elected to the LSTA's board of directors for the first time. Glenn Stewart of Bank of America, Dan Toscano of Deutsche Bank and Tom Newberry of Credit Suisse were also re-elected.