Highland Capital establishes Asia-Pacific regional office in Singapore

‘We have seen considerable interest from Asian investors in our hedge funds over the past two years, alongside our longstanding regional investor base in structured products,’ says Highland partner Jack Yang.

‘These investors typically have longer-term views of the markets, and are oriented to work with larger, more experienced managers like Highland. Our new Singapore office gives us a local footprint that our growing Asian investor community desires.’

Adkins has spent more than half of his 24-year career in various business assignments in Asia, having been based in Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo. He began his career at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company and has subsequently been a consultant in the financial services industry and a private equity fund manager specialising in telecommunications, media and technology investments.

‘Paul’s experience will contribute to our growth in Asia, where he has a proven track record of forging strong relationships with investors,’ Yang says.

Highland has announced that John Mackin, Christopher Harrison and Elizabeth Goldstein have joined the firm as managing directors in the firm’s New York office, responsible for sales and investor relations for Highland’s institutional clients and reporting to managing director and head of institutional sales Maureen Mitchell.

‘The additions to our team announced today are a reflection of the growth and evolution of Highland’s client base,’ Mitchell says. ‘Sophisticated global institutions are gravitating toward managers with proven, differentiated investment capabilities.

‘As we continue to build relationships among investors such as pensions, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds, we are investing in our sales and investor relations resources. John’s longstanding track record of serving institutions, combined with Chris and Elizabeth’s deep knowledge of the capital markets enhance our ability to respond to our clients’ needs with a consultative approach to business development.’

Mackin was previously director of investor relations at hedge fund manager Pardus Capital Management from 2005 to 2007, having been director of marketing at New York-based fund of hedge funds Protégé Partners from 2004.

Earlier he spent six years with Lazard Asset Management in positions including senior vice-president and head of alternative investments marketing. He began his investment career at the Metropolitan Life Insurance, where he held both portfolio management and marketing roles.

Harrison was previously president of Maidstone Capital, a financial and strategic consulting firm he established in 2006, following three years as a senior vice-president at Raymond James & Associates focusing on high-yield sales. His more than 20 years; experience in high-yield credit and institutional sales includes spells with Bank of New York, Bankers Trust, Bear Stearns and Drexel Burnham Lambert.

Goldstein joins Highland from Bear Stearns, where she was a senior managing director in the leveraged finance group for nine years. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs as a vice-president in the global finance group for five years. Earlier Goldstein was a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and spent four years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as an economist and member of the international capital markets staff.

Founded in 1993 Highland Capital Management, which also has offices in New York and London, currently manages some USD38bn in assets across asset classes including senior secured loans, high-yield bonds, mezzanine debt, distressed investments, structured products, European credit, real estate and equities on behalf of institutional and high net worth investors.