Hartford insurer Nassau Re says it’s launched another private credit unit under its asset management segment.
Based at 1 American Row, the company announced plans Tuesday to leverage newly created Nassau Private Credit LLC (NPC) to invest in collateralized loan obligation (CLO) equity for its affiliates and other third-party firms.
Phillip J. Gass, chief executive of Nassau Re, says the new credit arm will expand its asset management footprint and complement its existing CLO management business, Nassau Corporate Credit LLC. That unit was formed in 2017 and currently has about $2.1 billion in assets under management, the company said.
Nassau Re hired two outsiders — Bruce C. Brittain and Russell C. Pemberton — Â to lead NPC as managing directors and lead proprofilio managers. Brittain began work in October and Pemberton will start Feb. 25, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Together, Gass says the two men have more than 30 years experience in structured credit markets.
Brittain most recently served as co-founder and principal of New York-based Morningside Credit Partners for approximately two years, and previously was managing director of South Street Securities in New York for nearly five years.
Pemberton served the last five-plus years as head of CLO syndicate and origination at global investment bank RBC Capital Markets, and was director of Royal Bank of Scotland in the four years prior.
Nassau Re has been busy in recent months, announcing in November it raised $200 million in capital to expand its fixed annuity and life insurance businesses. Meantime, the company, parent of Hartford’s The Phoenix Cos. Inc., eliminated the name and rebranded its core insurance subsidiaries under a single Nassau brand.
Founded in 2015, The Nassau Re has combined assets of about $20 billion and capital of approximately $1.3 billion.
Its business segments cover insurance, reinsurance, distribution and asset management via affiliates including Nassau Life and Annuity Co., Constitution Life Insurance Co., Saybrus Partners, Nassau Asset Management Co. and Nassau CorAmerica.
Clarification: A previous version of this story misstated Bruce C. Brittain’s background.
