RMB Capital Management, an independent investment advisory firm, has launched Iron Road Capital Partners, an alternative investment platform.
“As a firm with an entrepreneurial spirit and a focus on client service, we are continually looking to expand on the investment solutions we are able to offer,” says Richard Burridge (pictured), RMB’s chief executive and chief investment officer. “We strongly believe that alternative investments have a place in most qualified investors’ asset allocations. Iron Road will provide access to managers pursuing strategies that complement more traditional investments on our open architecture platform.”
RMB began laying the groundwork for Iron Road in 2006, by partnering with the portfolio managers of a long/short US equity strategy. In 2011, RMB established a second venture with the portfolio managers of a long/short stressed-debt strategy. With the governance, legal, and operational structure of the platform established, both investment strategies now operate under the Iron Road umbrella.
Candidates to join the platform are portfolio managers with USD20m to USD200m in assets under management who would prefer Iron Road’s joint venture model over a fund of funds, a managed account platform, a multi-strategy fund, a traditional seed capital provider, or a first-loss capital provider.
“We are best described as a family of individually owned, single-strategy managers that rely on both internal and external sources of capital,” says Blair Haarlow, managing principal of Iron Road. “One of the key benefits of our model for portfolio managers is that we are able to leverage our existing operational infrastructure, allowing them to focus on managing their strategies rather than managing a business.”
In addition to adding new strategies, Iron Road has continued to expand its team of investment professionals. A significant recent hire is Kent Holden, who brings an extensive background in short selling, adding a specialised area of expertise to one of the managers already on the platform. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, Holden joined Iron Road after serving as the managing member of Holden Asset Management, which he founded in 2005.
