Altegris Advisors has appointed Robert S Naka as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Naka will report to Martin Beaulieu (pictured), Executive Chairman and CEO of Altegris.
Following a strategic review of the firm’s offerings and priorities to better meet the evolving needs of its clients, this appointment reflects the firm’s commitment to delivering best-in-breed alternative investment solutions to individual and institutional clients.
Naka will oversee the firm’s Operations and IT departments to optimise the operational infrastructure of the firm’s systems, processes and personnel. He joins Altegris from Salient Partners, where he was Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Naka planned and executed on the operational integration of Forward Funds and Salient Partners following Forward’s sale to Salient in 2015. He was also responsible for overseeing the functions of Operations, IT, Fund Accounting and the Risk Committee, and for upgrading the firm’s operations and information technology to an institutional-grade level.
“After closely evaluating our firm’s offerings and growth objectives, strengthening and expanding our operations is a clear focus as we aim to be the leading provider of customised alternative investment solutions,” says Beaulieu. “Rob joins at an important time for Altegris, and his deep expertise and proven track record enhancing core alternative investment operations will be instrumental in paving the way for Altegris’ growth moving forward.”
As a result of the firm’s strategic review, Altegris has additionally hired Leah Curtis as Director of Marketing and Preeti Malik as Head of Strategy. Curtis joins the firm from Matthews Asia, where she was Vice President of U.S. Marketing in the firm’s San Francisco office. At Matthews Asia, Curtis was responsible for the firm’s channel marketing activities across the US and Latin America, and previously held senior roles at Calamos Investments and Partners Wealth Management. At Altegris, she will work closely with the firm’s distribution teams to develop marketing initiatives for key distribution partners and specific client segments.
Preeti Malik joins Altegris from Salient Partners, where she was most recently Vice President of Strategy. At Salient, Malik teamed with the firm’s management team to determine ongoing strategic initiatives, develop growth strategies and execute on strategic business investments and acquisitions, including the post-merger integration of three strategic acquisitions by Forward Management and the Salient/Forward integration.
“We are pleased to have Rob, Leah and Preeti on board, and look forward to leveraging their extensive experience in product development, strategy and mergers and acquisitions as we explore new opportunities to enhance our platform,” added Mr. Beaulieu. “We are focused on continuing the momentum of 2017 and build upon our success by expanding our existing capabilities and bringing on new ones that match the needs of our clients.”
As a talent scout for alternatives, Altegris follows a disciplined process for identifying, evaluating, and monitoring what we believe are best-in-breed alternative strategies to deliver to institutional and individual investors through both public and private structures. Altegris offers managed futures, global macro, long/short equity, private equity, and event-driven strategies, among others.
