Steve Berry has joined Investec Fund Finance to facilitate loans to credit and hedge funds, the bank announced in a statement.
Berry previously directed the structured solutions and fixed income team for Banca IMI, where he was responsible for providing senior structured facilities to UK asset managers, funding investment grade bonds and selling asset backed securities to UK fixed income investors, according to a statement. Berry will report to Global Head of Investec Fund Finance Simon Hamilton.
“In our fund finance business we have seen a growing need for more innovative lending from credit managers. Steve has extensive experience in structuring finance solutions to this market,” Hamilton said in a statement. “We are delighted that he is joining the team, where he will enhance our existing offering for credit and hedge funds.”
In September, Investec added Mikael Busch to its fund finance. Busch focuses on lending strategies for the private equity secondary market.
Investec Specialist Bank’s fund finance team provides a range of financing services. These include portfolio lending (providing facilities secured against fund assets), optimising equity (leverage to enhance returns and maximise the use of a fund’s equity), fund administration (bridging facilities for LP draw-downs or to smooth distributions to investors), GP financing (enabling managers to fund GP commitments or to provide working capital), and secondary leverage (bridge financing for secondary fund investments).