Abacus Global Management (NYSE:ABX) has launched an asset-based finance strategy within its Abacus Asset Group, as the alternative asset manager looks to expand its investment platform and tap rising institutional demand for asset-backed credit.
The strategy will be led by Monty Cook, head of private credit at Abacus and former head of asset-based finance lending in North America at Varde Partners, along with Elena Plesco, Abacus’s chief capital officer and former co-head of specialty finance investing at KKR & Co.
The strategy will deploy capital into asset-backed investments and structured credit opportunities, combining institutional origination and structuring capabilities with Abacus’s insurance analytics and sector relationships.
CEO Jay Jackson said the move builds on the firm’s two decades of experience in insurance analytics and specialty asset servicing.
“This strategy represents the natural evolution of our platform,” Jackson said, adding that combining the firm’s infrastructure with the leadership team’s asset-based finance experience positions Abacus to deliver new investment solutions to institutional clients, particularly insurance carriers.
Cook and Plesco bring roughly four decades of combined experience in asset-based finance and specialty credit. The pair previously collaborated on transactions during their time at prior firms.
Before joining Abacus, Cook oversaw North American asset-based finance lending at Varde Partners, where he managed a team responsible for underwriting and monitoring a diversified portfolio of investments. Earlier in his career he held roles at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase.
Plesco spent nearly a decade at KKR, where she most recently served as co-head of specialty finance investing, focusing on originating and structuring large portfolios of asset-backed investments.
The new strategy will target a range of asset classes, including consumer credit, equipment finance, receivables, small business loans and intellectual property-backed cash flows. It will also focus on insurance-related assets such as policy-backed lending and financing for insurance carriers.
Abacus said the strategy will prioritize asset-backed lending, structured credit and corporate asset-based credit while emphasizing downside protection through collateralized exposures and disciplined underwriting.
The company expects the strategy to target net risk-adjusted returns of about 11% to 13% with an average investment duration of three to five years.
Abacus said the launch also supports its broader goal of building a diversified alternative asset management platform with multiple sources of fee-related earnings.