Ben Creates New Credit Portfolio Risk & Quantitative Analytics Team Led by Samuel Hikspoors
Samuel Hikspoors tapped to lead the new team and is promoted to Credit Risk Officer, Managing Director and Department Head
DALLAS, Sept. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. (Ben), a leading company serving the growing market of investors seeking liquidity from alternative assets, announced today the creation of a newly formalized Credit Portfolio Risk & Quantitative Analytics team as the company looks to expand its current offerings and grow in the future. Dr. Samuel Hikspoors has been appointed to lead the new group and is promoted to Credit Risk Officer, Managing Director and Department Head.
The structure of the Credit Portfolio Risk & Quantitative Analytics team will bring together all quantitative strategies, top-down modeling, and risk analytics capabilities under one roof, allowing for a deliberate reemphasis on Ben’s long-established strengths in these areas. In his new role, Dr. Hikspoors will drive Ben’s approach to credit portfolio management and risk, a critical component of the firm’s plans for accelerated future growth.
“As Ben prepares to scale our innovative liquidity solutions and significantly broaden our market reach, the leadership team recognized the need to emphasize a modern quantitative and data-driven approach to secondary markets, resulting in the creation of the Credit Portfolio Risk & Quantitative Analytics team,” said James Silk, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Ben. “Sam is the perfect person to lead the new group, bringing a proven track record when it comes to multi-asset portfolio management, top-down investment strategies, risk, and hedging. His tenure at Ben, and his deep understanding of our approach as well as the opportunities ahead, make him an ideal choice to lead this diversified and skilled group of quants within the Credit Portfolio Risk & Analytics team.”
The combined team will continue to focus on their current priorities and responsibilities, led by a talented and experienced group of senior professionals. Under the umbrella of the Credit Portfolio Risk & Quantitative Analytics group, the Credit Portfolio Construction & Risk team will remain under the supervision of Dr. Hikspoors and will continue to develop and manage Ben’s Total Portfolio Management (TPM) for credits, hedging programs, and top-down transaction valuations. The Quantitative Analytics team, led by David Eliezer, will continue to develop our firm-wide analytical capabilities used across groups and departments, as well as related quant infrastructure. Finally, the Credit Risk Policy & Reporting team will be led by Solomon Ndungu, who will oversee the implementation of Ben’s credit risk policies and reporting needs and will coordinate communications with Ben’s auditors and internal compliance group.
Before taking on this role, Dr. Hikspoors previously served as SVP and Head of Credit Portfolio Construction for Ben where he was responsible for developing and implementing various credit related strategies for Ben’s customers. Over the past three years, Dr. Hikspoors has been instrumental in building the company’s Credit Portfolio Construction team and developing Ben’s TPM framework for credits, which leverages modern quantitative strategies to fully harvest the value of private markets.
“Ben’s Credit Portfolio Risk & Quantitative Analytics team is incredibly well-positioned for the company’s next phase of growth, and I’m looking forward to taking on a leadership position within the newly formalized business unit,” said Dr. Hikspoors. “Our growth so far is a testament to the team’s breadth, depth, experience, and hard work. Their important foundational work in credit strategies to deliver customers liquidity from alternative assets has allowed Ben to establish itself in a position of strength in the alternative investments industry.”
Throughout his career, Dr. Hikspoors has held various roles spanning quantitative portfolio management and construction strategies within the financial services industry. Most recently before joining Ben, he was Vice President, Quantitative Strategies, at Sage Advisory. Prior to Sage Advisory, Dr. Hikspoors was Portfolio Manager and Head of Research – Capital Markets Solutions at Invesco.
Dr. Hikspoors holds a bachelor’s degree in Math and Physics from the Universite de Montreal. In addition, he holds a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in Math and Finance from the University of Toronto.
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