Nassau to open London office for European CLO push

US CLO specialist Nassau Corporate Credit is setting up a UK office to focus on CLOs in Europe.

The firm was founded in 2017, has $3.1 billion in assets under management, invests in corporate credit and serves as an issuer and collateral manager for CLOs. It also invests in securities issued by externally-managed CLOs via its affiliate Nassau Private Credit LLC.

NCC’s European expansion will utilise the same strategy it already deploys in the US, allowing the business to diversify and globalise its approach. The firm added that it will be able to meet growing demand for long-term investment opportunities with low correlation to US credit markets.

The new office in London will be staffed by portfolio managers Paul Meloche and Hekeani Mathieu, both of whom join from Ellington Management Group and will report to NCC’s chief investment officer Alex Jackson.

Meloche will join as managing director and focus on building NCC’s capabilities in Europe. He has more than 14 years of experience in European CLOs and prior to joining Ellington he held roles at West Face Capital, Barclays Capital and Bank of America Securities.

Mathieu is a director and will work on building the firm’s capabilities as a portfolio manager of UK CLOs and other forms of high-yield corporate credit. Before working at Ellington she spent time at Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Haymarket Financial.