In anticipation of bonds making a comeback, Swiss private bank Pictet is putting together a four-person private debt team.
Pictet Asset Management is building a new private debt division for making loans to privately held companies. Within the fund unit of Geneva-based private bank Pictet, the new team will be led by Andreas Klein, based in London, according to a statement from Pictet on Tuesday.
Klein joined Pictet Asset Management in early 2022 and previously spent eight years at UK-based rival ICG as managing director, where he played a key role in building and expanding the direct lending strategy.
Klein received support in November from Jan Reichenbach and Axel Cordonnier, regional heads of the private debt team, and Christian Eckert, senior investment manager.
An International Team
Reichenbach is head of private debt for the DACH region comprising Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He previously was head of private debt in the DACH markets as well as in the Netherlands for the investment firm Muzinich. Eckert was part of the leveraged finance team at NIBC Bank in Frankfurt before joining the firm.
Cordonnier heads private debt for France, from Paris. Before joining Pictet, he spent more than a decade in the private debt investment team at Ares Management as a principal.
For Raymond Sagayam, chief investment officer in Pictet Asset Management's fixed income division, the timing of the expansion is related to the expected comeback of bond investing. He said the new private debt team will use its expertise to shape attractive risk-return profiles in the asset class for clients.
