Mariner Investment Group and ORIX USA Announce New Initiatives To Strengthen Strategic Alliance

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Mariner Investment Group ("Mariner") and ORIX USA today announced a series of strategic initiatives to strengthen their alliance as well as changes to Mariner's management structure to better align the organizations. ORIX USA acquired a majority interest in Mariner in 2010.

Mariner will continue to expand its lines of business, including the onboarding of some of ORIX USA's investment teams to develop new asset management opportunities for its clients. This will also enable ORIX USA to leverage Mariner's infrastructure and distribution expertise to attract third-party capital to many of the core investment strategies of ORIX USA. This joint effort began in 2014 when ORIX's leveraged loan team, headed by Erik Gunnerson and David Martin, joined Mariner to develop new opportunities for Mariner clients. Over the next six to 12 months, ORIX USA and Mariner will look to replicate that success by utilizing other proprietary ORIX USA teams to augment Mariner's suite of product offerings.

Consistent with the firm being a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, Mariner will also look to increase its focus on creating new and unique environmental, social and governance (ESG) products that are "impact" oriented and geared to have double and triple bottom-line outcomes, with social, environmental and financial benefits. During the past two years, Mariner has also incorporated ESG research, ratings and screening tools into its investment decision-making processes for certain of the firm's investment mandates. 

"Today's announcement reflects the success of the ORIX USA alliance with Mariner over the past five years and is the logical next step for our partnership," said Hideto Nishitani, President and CEO of ORIX USA. "Mariner has a nearly 25-year history of launching and growing successful investment businesses, and we are excited to accelerate and grow our collaboration."

"Mariner strongly believes that our active and expanded relationship with ORIX USA will significantly differentiate the firm over the longer-term and enhance our ability to provide institutional clients with a broad array of high quality investment options," said Basil Williams, co-CIO of Mariner. "Our deepening ties with ORIX USA and, in particular, our ability to bring over additional ORIX teams to Mariner will foster an environment that accelerates product development and is well suited to the complexities and challenges of today's investment climate."

In order to facilitate the execution of the new collective vision, Mariner announced the following changes to its management structure:

• Mariner has established a five-person Operating Committee (the "Operating Committee"), comprised of Mariner Managing Directors: Charles "Chip" Howe, Basil Williams and John Kelty, as well as two ORIX USA representatives, Christopher Suan and Allan Toole. The Operating Committee will be responsible for the execution of strategy and day-to-day operations at Mariner, ultimately reporting to its Board of Managers.
• Bracebridge Young, Jr., will step down as Mariner's CEO at the end of 2015 to pursue a philanthropic agenda and personal passion, taking on the position of CEO at GATE Global Impact, an online marketplace that seeks to promote investments in organizations for sustainable social and environmental benefits through a virtual global network of buyers and sellers who can transact directly with one another. Young will remain a member of Mariner's Board of Managers and serve as Chairman of Mariner's soon to be formed Impact Investing Advisory Committee where he will assist Mariner in its efforts to develop ESG-related product offerings.
• William Michaelcheck, Mariner's founder, will remain co-CIO of Mariner and Chairman of the Board of Managers and concentrate his time on the management of Mariner's multi-strategy mandate. 

Michaelcheck commented, "I want to thank Brace for his exceptional stewardship of Mariner and congratulate him on his new role at GATE Global Impact where he will be able to pursue one of his biggest professional passions. As one of the chief architects of our ORIX USA alliance more than five years ago, and as the driving force behind Mariner's pursuit of ESG and impact oriented investment opportunities, Brace's vision and leadership have greatly augmented Mariner's stature as a global asset manager amongst our international institutional investor base. We look forward to our continued collaboration on Mariner's evolution of ESG and impact investment related products and wish him well."

"I am proud to have been a part of the Mariner organization and am incredibly grateful to my colleagues at both Mariner and ORIX USA for the opportunity they have afforded me over the last 15 years," said Young. "Mariner today is a significant enterprise supported by great infrastructure and distribution on a global scale, so it is an appropriate time for me to move on to the next phase of my career. Impact investing has been a passion of mine for some time, and I have been delighted to advance the cause at Mariner as well as in my work with Social Finance US. My new role at GATE Global Impact will provide me the unique opportunity to develop a platform on a potentially much greater scale that can significantly advance the proliferation of sustainability and ethical impact in today's investment environment."

Mariner Investment Group, LLC

Mariner Investment Group, LLC, is an SEC registered investment adviser that manages several direct and affiliated single and multi-strategy hedge funds, funds of funds and other alternative investments services.  Founded in 1992, Mariner and its associated advisers employ approximately 230 people in New York, Boston, London, Tokyo, Seoul, Philadelphia, Dallas, Harrison (NY), Rowayton (CT), and Summit (NJ).

ORIX USA Corporation

ORIX USA provides innovative capital solutions that clients need to propel their business to the next level. Based in Dallas, ORIX USA has a team of more than 500 employees spanning 20 offices across the U.S. and Brazil. ORIX USA and its family of companies offer investment capital and asset management services to clients in the corporate, real estate, municipal and energy sectors, while holding $6 billion of assets and managing an additional $29 billion, approximately. Its parent company, ORIX Corporation, is a Tokyo-based, publicly owned international financial services company with operations in 36 countries and regions worldwide. ORIX Corporation is listed on the Tokyo (8591) and New York Stock Exchanges (IX). For more information on ORIX USA, visit www.orix.com.

For Media Inquiries:

Mariner Investment Group, LLC contact:
David Press
Tel: (917) 721-7046
[email protected]

ORIX USA Contact:
Amanda Gleason for ORIX USA
[email protected]
972.770.5083

SOURCE Mariner Investment Group