A GSO Capital Partners managing director has left Blackstone’s credit arm to return to Citi, this time as the firm’s head of US credit strategies, according sources familiar with the situation.
While at GSO, Michael Anderson held a senior role in the investor relations in the firm’s customised credit strategies, which manages $33.8 billion. The department includes $20.2 billion in collateralised loan obligations and $13.6 billion in publicly listed funds, separately managed accounts and commingled funds. Citibank’s credit products include bond and loan trading for investment grade, high yield and distressed securities as well as structured credit products and credit derivatives.
Both firms declined to comment.
Before his time at GSO, Anderson was a credit strategist focused on US high yield and leveraged loans. He worked there from November 2010 to February 2015, when he moved to GSO, according to his LinkedIn profile. His previous employment included Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers.
In addition, Brett Crandall, formerly a principal on GSO’s energy team, transferred over to TPG Capital where he works on energy in the firm’s Houston office, another source said. TPG’s energy desk concentrates on oil and gas exploration and production, oilfield services, midstream operations and downstream operations, according the firm’s website.
Anderson’s departure comes after several other senior level personnel have left GSO, including Alan Kerr, who headed up the European customised credit strategies operations. In early March, Bloomberg also reported Craig Snyder, GSO’s former global trading head, joined Ares Management to lead its distressed debt trading.
On Blackstone’s quarterly media call Thursday, chief operating officer and president Tony James fielded a question about the recent departures.
“We’ve been making some changes to the business model at GSO,” James said. “In particular, we’ve shifted a capital pool that was short-term trading oriented in our hedge fund strategies to long-term drawdown fund because it serves our LPs so much better. So that’s eliminated the need for some trading desk and other kind of expertise like that.”
GSO recently transitioned the money in its distressed debt hedge fund, GSO Special Situations Fund, to closed-end funds. The firm also gave its investors the option of transferring money allocated to the shuttered hedge fund to GSO’s latest locked-up distressed debt fund, which is currently in market.
Meghan Morris contributed to this report.
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