ALTERNATIVE ASSET CLASSES AND INVESTMENTS
Practice Area
SEDA Experts' Alternative Asset Classes and Investment Securities Practice comprises former senior executives who led global practices at leading commercial and investment banks, former regulators—including a former Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)—and distinguished global economists.
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As industry leaders, our team has extensive expertise in various investment vehicles, including hedge funds, venture capital (VC) funds, private equity (PE) funds, and complex master-feeder fund structures. Our experts in commodities, emerging market securities, and foreign exchange (FX) instruments possess a deep understanding of global supply chains, geopolitical risks, and macroeconomic market dynamics, and they are also proficient in complex financial arrangements, such as insurance-linked financial products.
Additionally, our experts have substantial experience in structuring and managing a wide array of structured products, including complex structured credit instruments like collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), collateralized bond obligations (CBOs), and collateralized fund obligations (CFOs), among other asset-backed securities (ABSs). They are adept at facilitating complex investment structures through special purpose vehicles (SPVs), structured financing, and securitization processes.
Our team also possesses specialized knowledge in real estate investments, with expertise in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and both residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities (RMBSs and CMBSs).
This diverse expertise enables us to provide comprehensive insights and solutions across a broad spectrum of alternative asset classes and investment securities.
EXPERTISE
Commodities
SEDA Experts provides expert witness services in the global commodities market, leveraging extensive industry and regulatory experience. Our team includes former global heads of commodities trading, with expertise across diverse commodities sectors—agriculture, energy, gas, oil and refined products, metals, environmental finance, structured credit, investor products, and complex derivatives. In addition to general expertise, our specialists have deep knowledge of specific commodities such as dry freight, iron ore, fertilizers, biomass, emissions, petroleum coke, and both thermal and metallurgical coal.
Our experts leverage quantitative and fundamental analysis for physical and financial commodities instruments. Their skillset extends beyond trading to valuation, pricing, origination, fundamental analysis, operations, and associated derivatives.
Our team also brings significant expertise in the infrastructure underpinning commodities markets, including railways, ports, mines, transportation, freight, and storage. Their insights encompass the operational requirements vital to maintaining this infrastructure, which is crucial for seamless commodities trading.
Finally, our commodities experts include former regulators, such as a senior counsel and a former CFTC commissioner, adding an essential enforcement and compliance perspective. This blend of regulatory and industry knowledge enables SEDA to provide holistic expertise on a wide range of issues within the commodities and energy sectors.
Related Practices: Energy; Governance and ESG; Regulatory and Compliance
Emerging Markets Securities and Foreign Exchange (FX)
Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Complex Fund Structures, and Financial Arrangements
Complex Structured Products and Investment Structures
Real estate related investment vehicles and products, including REITs and mortgage-backed securities, such as RMBSs, and CMBSs
Complex financial arrangements, including insurance-linked financial products: BOLI, COLI, and IOLI
Complex Investment Structures: Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), Structured Finance, and Securitization
RELATED EXPERTS
Richard A. Marin
Managing Director
Former
Bear Stearns Asset Management - Chairman and CEO Chairman and CEO
Deutsche Asset Management - Chairman and CEO Chairman and CEO
Expertise
Asset Management, Alternative Investments, Private Equity Investments, Securities Lending, Retirement and Pension, ERISA Funds Investment Standards, Real Estate / Project Financing
Dawn Stump
Managing Director
Former
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) - Commissioner
Futures Industry Association - Executive Director Americas’ Advisory Board
Expertise
Derivatives Regulation, Enforcement, Surveillance, Commodity Markets, Public Policy
Maggie Sklar
Managing Director
Former
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago - Senior Policy Advisor and the Director of International Engagement, Financial Markets
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission - Senior Counsel and Advisor to Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo
Expertise
Financial Regulation Digital Assets and Cryptocurrency Derivatives Dodd-Frank Act
Peter U. Vinella, Ph.D.
Managing Director, Advisor to the Board
Former
Berkeley Research Group - Managing director
Wilmington Trust Conduit Services, LLC - President and CEO
Expertise
Trading and Investments, Risk Management, Operations, FinTech and Project Management, Quantitative Analysis, Custody, Trust, and Fund Administration, Repo and Securities Lending
Avinash Persaud
Managing Director
Former
Government of Barbados - Special Envoy to the Prime Minister on Investments and Financial Services
World Economic Forum - Member, Council on International Monetary System
Expertise
Fixed-Income Securities, Emerging Markets, Banks Crises and Liquidity, State-dependent sovereign securities, GDP and Oil-Linked Bonds, International Banking Regulations
Mark J. Buono
Managing Director
Former
Goldman Sachs - Managing Director, Special Asset Group
Freddie Mac - Vice President, Mortgage Trading
Expertise
CMBS, CRE CDOs, and REITs, Commercial Real Estate Lending, CRE Portfolio Management, CRE Portfolio Risk Management
Bruno Roch
Managing Director
Former
EuroChem and Suek - Head of Commodity Trading
Goldman Sachs - Senior Executive Director, Coal & Freight
Expertise
Commodities ,Energy Markets, Energy Trading, Energy Infrastructure
Mitchell I. Gordon
Managing Director
Former
Cambridge Capital Acquisition Corp./SPAC - President and CFO
Interpool (NYSE: IPX) - EVP and CFO
Expertise
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Investment Banking, Restructuring and Financing, Transportation and Logistics
David Pelleg
Managing Director
Former
Ivy Asset Management - Head of Structured Solutions Group
Bank Of America - Principal, Structured Hedge Fund Products Group
Expertise
Hedge funds / private equity / alternative asset management Structured finance (CLO, CDO, CBO, CFO) Derivatives especially vanilla/exotic/exchange traded options Digital currencies and trading Hedge-fund-linked structured products Cases which are nonstandard, hybrid or with many moving parts
Babak Eftekhari
Managing Director
Former
Bank of America Merrill Lynch - Managing Director, Head of Emerging Markets Trading, Europe
Goldman Sachs - Managing Director. Head of CEEMA foreign exchange trading, Emerging Markets FX options trading
Expertise
Emerging Markets Trading, FX Derivatives Trading, Structured Products, Emerging Markets Interest Rates
Douglas Lucas
Managing Director
Former
Moody's Investor Services - Managing Director
UBS and JPMorgan Chase - Head of CDO Research
Expertise
Rating Methodologies, CDO Performance Analysis, Fixed Income Credit Risk, Cross-Sector Credit Analysis
Richard Jefferson
Managing Director
Former
Deutsche Bank - Managing Director, Global Head of Commodities Trading
Expertise
Global Commodities Trading, FX Trading, Derivatives Trading, Commodities Markets