Duncan Kerr 07 Jun 2007
Merrill Lynch's head of municipal bond research team in the US has quit to join hedge fund 1861 Capital Management, a move that underscores the growing force of alternatives managers in the municipal market.
Kurt van Kuller, one of the market’s most experienced analysts, joined the New York-based fund this week as an assistant portfolio manager. He worked at Merrill for over 16 years, latterly as a senior director and manager of the municipal bond
credit research group.
Van Kuller started his career at credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s. He then moved on to work as research director for two regional municipal bond brokerage firms before joining Merrill Lynch.
His appointment at 1861 comes amid a scramble by hedge funds to access the $2.4 trillion (€1.8 trillion) municipal bond market by arbitraging its yield curve and taking advantage of the high quality of credit in the sector.
John Lee, co-founder of 1861, which has between $500m and $1bn in assets under management, said Van Kuller’s hire allows the firm to expand into the housing bond market where triple-A and double-A rated securities offer attractive yields.
State or local housing finance agencies in the market sell housing revenue bonds, which finance multifamily housing for low or moderate-income families, single-family housing for first-time home buyers, as well as housing for the aged and US forces veterans.
Source :
http://www.financialnews-us.com/?page=uspeoplemoves&contentid=2347981262 |
