Odgers Berndtson Recruits Head of North America for Hedge Fund As Demand for Senior Managers Rises
October 23, 2015 – Odgers Berndtson has placed Stephen Prince as co-head of TFG Asset Management — TFG’s diversified alternative asset management business — and head of North America for Tetragon Financial Management, LP, TFG’s investment manager. Maria de Rossi, a partner in Odgers’ New York office, led the search.
Mr. Prince joins the company from Silver Creek Capital Management LLC, a $7 billion alternative investment firm, where he most recently served as deputy chief investment officer and chair of the investment committee. Prior to joining Silver Creek in 2007, he helped found and was on the investment team of two long/short equity hedge funds. He began his career at Tiger Management L.L.C. and remains as a trustee of the Tiger Foundation.
“Stephen brings deep experience as an allocator, direct investor and business builder as well as an extensive global network that is particularly strong in the U.S.,” said Paddy Dear, a principal of TFM and the current head of TFG Asset Management.
“We are pleased to have an executive of Stephen’s caliber working with us as we grow TFG and TFG Asset Management and expand our relationships with investors in the region. We believe he will be instrumental in helping us build on TFG’s momentum as we continue to seek to grow the company’s asset management platform organically and through acquisitions, attract investment talent and optimize risk-adjusted returns for TFG’s capital,” he said.
“I have known and admired Stephen Prince for several years and patiently waited for the right role for someone of his caliber and unique combination of skill, talent and ethics,” said Ms. de Rossi.
“Tetragon, with its strong reputation and excellent track record as an alternative asset manager, finally provided the perfect platform to showcase Stephen’s capabilities. We are thrilled to have completed this important search and remain confident Stephen will help take Tetragon to the next level as a global asset alternate manager, while increasing its well-deserved brand recognition in the U.S.,” she added.
Odgers’ U.S. recruiting team has been deepening its track record in alternatives recruiting. In addition to Tetragon, other recent search completions include head of real assets for Harbourvest; and senior investment, marketing and advisory board searches for GP Investments.
Street of Walls, a job board for Wall Street, says that while some of the larger hedge funds (like SAC, Citadel, and Bridgewater) have in-house human resources teams, many hedge funds have no HR or recruiting functions and therefore rely on executive search firm specialists to fill critical positions. Odgers Berndtson serves a wide range of recruitment services for leading organizations in the private and public sectors, including board level and executive search, management assessment and international assignments.
“Demand for senior talent among alternative asset managers remains strong, with highly qualified, senior candidates sometimes having more than one offer at the same time,” said Ms. de Rossi.
According to a report by hedge fund consulting and marketing firm Agrecroft Partners, total hedge fund industry assets will reach a new all-time high this year. The firm expects hedge fund industry assets to rise by $210 billion, or seven percent, which was derived from an initial forecast of a two percent increase.
TFG is a Guernsey closed-ended company traded on Euronext Amsterdam N.V. under the ticker symbol “TFG” providing returns to investors across various credit, equity, interest rate, inflation and real estate cycles. The company’s investment portfolio comprises a broad range of assets, including a diversified alternative asset management business, TFG Asset Management, and covers bank loans, real estate, equities, credit, convertible bonds and infrastructure.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media