Sector developments and company hires

ESG-focused CLO manager formed
A trio of ex-Ares Management partners have formed a new independent alternative credit investment firm that plans to adopt an active ESG screening approach. Founded by Americo Cascella, Daniel Hall and Shane Mengel, Pacific & Plains Capital is based in Dallas, Texas, with a presence also in Los Angeles, California. The firm will invest in loans to companies operating across a range of industries and based across both North America and Europe, principally by issuing and managing CLOs.

At Ares, Cascella served as a portfolio manager and senior executive in its credit division, specialising in below investment grade fixed income. Hall served as co-general counsel of Ares’ global credit group and was a senior executive focused on credit, execution of fund raises and strategic matters. He was also a founding member of the insurance solutions group at the firm.

Mengel held several positions at Ares, including co-head of research, client portfolio manager and investment research analyst in its credit division, specialising in below investment grade fixed income. Between 2014 and 2016, he led a new initiative focused on expanding and coordinating efforts between the credit and business development divisions to identify new business opportunities primarily with family offices and consultants.    

In other news…

CLO equity agreement inked
The TCW Group has entered into a strategic investment agreement with Jefferies and Kennedy Lewis Investment Management to support new issuance of CLOs on the TCW platform. Under the agreement, Jefferies and Kennedy Lewis will provide up to US$160m in equity to the TCW CLO platform, providing equity for the issuance of multiple CLOs over approximately the next two years. Through this investment, Kennedy Lewis and Jefferies will gain access to and share in the growth of TCW’s loan platform. TCW also plans to open a CLO warehouse in the near future.

Dutch mortgage platform expanded
NN Investment Partners has expanded its mortgage proposition with two new Dutch residential mortgage funds, which will purchase mortgages from Venn Hypotheken. The team currently manages over €32bn in different mortgage investment strategies.

One of the funds (NN Dutch Residential Mortgage Fund NHG) invests solely in mortgages with a national mortgage guarantee, while the other (NN Dutch Residential Mortgage Fund Non-NHG) will invest in non-NHG mortgages. The aim is to allow NN IP to offer clients a flexible risk/return solution and Venn Hypotheken to increase its market share, as it will be able to offer more types of mortgages to home buyers.

The funds provide efficient and flexible exposure to the asset class and enable smaller commitments, more operational ease and greater liquidity, compared to tailored mandates in the asset class. Investors in the funds are expected to benefit from Venn’s proven underwriting and servicing capabilities, combined with NN IP’s high-quality institutionalised portfolio management.

EMEA
ARA Venn has appointed Mark Prisk chair and non-executive director of the board of its Saltaire Housing subsidiary, with Sarah Wall also becoming a non-executive director. Saltaire won a concession last month from the UK government to provide £3bn of cost-effective long-term loans, of up to 30 years, to registered providers developing new affordable homes in England.

Prisk served as a UK Member of Parliament for 18 years before stepping down at the 2019 General Election. Prior to his role as Minister of State for Housing, he was Minister of State for Business and Enterprise.

Wall has over 20 years of experience as a senior funder to the social housing, real estate and infrastructure industries. Most recently a senior portfolio manager at Aviva and previously at the Pensions Protection Fund, she has also served as head of investment risk at Pension Insurance Corporation, director of credit research and debt restructuring at M&G, and rated social housing bonds at Fitch.

North America
Hansol Kim has joined Kanerai as a product development specialist, based in New York. Kim was formerly an md at FTI Consulting, responsible for strategic advisory and execution of risk management and investment solutions for financial institutions, institutional investors and government agencies. Before that, he founded consulting firm Pine Lakes Capital, having previously worked at Financial Security Assurance and GE Capital.