Robert Fraley has left Merrill Lynch, where he was a director and a distressed analyst, to join Fortress Investment Group. Fraley had worked at Merrill Lynch in various positions since 1996. It could not be determined whether a replacement will be hired. Neither he, nor Barbara Scholl, managing director and head of distressed research, at Merrill Lynch, returned calls. Randal Nardone, Fortress coo, declined to comment.
Fortress Investment Group is a global alternative investment and asset management company based in New York, according to information on the firm's Web site. It was founded in 1998 by Wesley Edens, Robert Kauffman, Nardone and Erik Nygaard. Fortress currently manages over $1.2 billion in private equity on behalf of institutional investors, and invests primarily in financial and real estate related assets.