ASTRA ASSET MANAGEMENT UK LIMITED - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Investment Analyst
- Category: Investment Team
Agrim Ganti is an investment analyst. Mr Ganti works closely with the Investment Management Team on multiple investment strategies and asset classes, with a focus on financial modelling, credit analysis and structuring. Mr Ganti joined Astra in 2016, with around two years of restructuring and corporate advisory experience at KPMG which involved working with stressed and distressed clients as well as on formal corporate insolvencies across various industry sectors.
Mr Ganti holds a MSc in Finance from London School of Economics and a MEng in Electronic & Electrical Engineering from University College London.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Partner and Member of the Investment Management Team
Albertus Rigter is a partner and member of the Investment Management Team. Mr Rigter joined Astra in 2019 from LGT Capital Partners Ltd in Switzerland, where he was a Partner, Portfolio Manager of LGT's Crown Distressed Credit Opportunities Funds, Co-Head of Multi-Style Team, and Member of the Investment Committee. Before joining LGT in June 2008, Mr Rigter worked at Dexia Asset Management where from 2004, where he was responsible for event driven and emerging markets strategies and was a member of the investment committee. Prior to Dexia, Mr Rigter worked as a buy side analyst in emerging market equity at the asset management division of Banque Générale du Luxembourg (later Fortis Investments in 2003). Mr Rigter started his career in 1999 at Robeco Group, working in the securities lending department.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Member of the Investment Management Team
Anish Mathur is the Founder and the Chief Investment Officer of Astra Asset Management UK Limited. Mr Mathur is also a member of the Investment Management Team. Prior to Astra, Anish spent 7 years at Deutsche Bank as Head of Winchester Capital Principal Finance, where he was responsible for one of the largest cash and synthetic asset backed securities portfolios globally comprising a multi-billion-dollar pool of ABS assets including US and European RMBS, CMBS, CLOs and CDOs in both cash and synthetic form. Prior to Winchester Capital, Anish spent 7 years providing consulting services to several Fortune 500 companies over various financial and strategic matters including capital efficacy, P&L maximization and post M&A optimization methodology.
Mr Mathur holds an MBA from Oxford University and was BTech from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
Job Titles:
- Investment Analyst
- Category: Investment Team
Ms Chaudhary joined Astra in 2018 as a graduate from the University of Delhi, where she earned a BA in Commerce (Honors).
Job Titles:
- Operations Analyst
- Operations
Daniel Fowler is an Operations Analyst. He joined the Operations Team at Astra in 2023.
Prior to joining Astra, Mr Fowler performed Operational Due Diligence on Alternative Investment Funds for an Investment Consultant. Mr Fowler is a graduate from University of Surrey, where he earned an MSc in International Financial Management and a BSc in Physics with Nuclear Astrophysics.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Category: Investment Committee / Co - Founder
- Member of the Investment Management Team
Dr. Christian Adler is the co-founder of Astra Asset Management UK Limited. Dr Adler is a member of the Investment Management Team, and the Risk Committee and is responsible for managing the overall portfolio risk of Astra's investments. Christian has over 20 years' experience in the credit markets, with 14 years spent at Deutsche Bank in London, New York and Frankfurt. Within DB's Global Credit Trading department Christian was a senior trader managing a multi-billion-dollar CDO/ABS book. In addition to hedging and risk managing a portfolio of structured credit products consisting of cash as well as synthetic positions in ABS and leveraged loans, he was responsible for identifying relative value opportunities including long/short strategies and capital structure arbitrage in ABS.
Dr Adler holds a PhD in Mathematics and an MSc in Physics from Hamburg University.
Job Titles:
- Investment Analyst
- Category: Investment Team
Dylan Ottey is an Investment Analyst. He joined the Investment Team at Astra in 2022.
Mr Ottey joined as a graduate from Loughborough University, where he earned a BSc in Business, Economic and Finance.
Job Titles:
- Investment Analyst
- Category: Investment Team
Harvey Reeves is an investment analyst. He joined the Investment Team at Astra in 2022.
Mr Reeves joined as a graduate from Newcastle University, where he received a BA Honours in Business Management.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Category: Investment Committee
- Member of the Investment Management Team
Kenneth Brougher is a member of the Investment Management Team, and brings structuring expertise to all aspects of the investment strategy with focus on the Direct Origination. Mr Brougher joined Astra in 2016 with over 20 years of experience in finance, trading and structuring in New York City and London. Previously at Deutsche Bank, Mr Brougher was head of its Global Markets Repack and Structured Notes desk responsible for a global platform with over EUR 40bn in issuance across 117 SPVs and 14 jurisdictions including Credit, Rates, Equities, Trade Finance, Funds, Commodities, EM and Longevity/Mortality strategies in both private placements and registered public issuances into Europe, Asia and America to institutional and retail clients. Additionally, Mr Brougher was a Senior Credit structurer specialising in the creation, delivery and execution of complex innovative derivative solutions including static and managed synthetic CDOs, CDO^2, leveraged super senior tranches in funded and unfunded/derivative form. During the financial crisis, Mr Brougher represented Deutsche Bank in the restructuring of the USD 32Bn Canadian Asset-Backed Commercial Paper market, which is to date the largest single restructuring of synthetic structured credit products.
Mr Brougher holds a BA in Political Science from Dickinson College.
Job Titles:
- Investment Analyst
- Category: Investment Team
Marc Clotet is an Investment Analyst. He joined the Investment Team at Astra in 2023.
Mr. Clotet joined as a graduate from University College London (UCL) where he earned a BSc in Economics. He also holds a certificate in Alternative Investments from the London School of Economics (LSE) Summer School.
Job Titles:
- Solicitor
- Category: Legal and Compliance / General Counsel
- General Counsel With
Mark Murray is General Counsel with Astra Asset Management UK Limited, an FCA authorised Alternative Investment Fund Manager and a Registered Investment Adviser with the Securities Exchange Commission.
Mr Murray has thirteen years multi-jurisdictional post qualification experience in EU, UK, US and Irish financial services, regulatory compliance, litigation and asset management. Mr Murray advises Astra Asset Management UK Limited and the boards of numerous funds, SPVs and segregated client portfolios linked to both credit and equity-based strategies in the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands Jersey and the Cayman Islands on their regulatory, fund structuring, corporate governance and compliance obligations.
Mr Murray has particular expertise in delivering expert advice on the laws and regulations governing investment services and for devising group compliance and group litigation strategy. Mr Murray is also responsible alongside the structuring and special situations team for developing bespoke solutions for institutional investors.
Mr Murray is a practising solicitor and holds an LLB from Trinity College Dublin and holds professional Law Society of Ireland diplomas in Financial Regulation, Fund Governance and Corporate Law and Practice and has achieved a Diploma in Islamic Finance, from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Mr Murray is also an accredited mediator with the State Bar of California and has completed a Masters in Mediation Practice from the Law Society of Ireland in 2020.
Michael Harrison - Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Legal Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Compliance Officer
- Legal Counsel
- Category: Legal and Compliance / Legal Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer
Michael Harrison is Legal Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer and has over 20 years' experience in financial and regulatory services, including 15 years at Deutsche Bank where he was Associate General Counsel, supporting repackaging and structured credit businesses, and managing the implementation of regulatory change in both the investment bank and asset management businesses. This experience is broadened by several years of legal consultancy, supporting several banks' regulatory change projects (particularly the global transition from IBORs to RFRs in both derivatives and structured lending). Mr Harrison joined Astra in 2022.
Mr Harrison holds an MA in Law from the University of Cambridge and was called to the Bar of England and Wales by Middle Temple in 1994.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Category: Operations / COO
- Operations
Michael Holdom is the Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Risk Committee. Mr Holdom joined Astra at its inception in 2012 from Octave Investment Management LLP, where he had been a Director since 2009. Prior to Octave, Mr Holdom spent 20 years within Deutsche Bank, London, culminating in being the Head of the Alternative Investment Trading team. He specialised in hedging and market making of a wide range of Deutsche Bank securitised products, including the systematic quantitative delta-one equity strategies created by the Quantitative Products Structuring team. Prior to this he held a wide number of operational roles for Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust within Equities, FX, Commodities and Interest Rate asset classes.
Mr Holdom holds a BSc in Physics from the University of London.
Saffron Bowman is an assistant on the investor relations team. She joined Astra in 2023. Ms. Bowman holds a BA (Hons) in Religion, Politics, and Society from King's College London.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Category: Investment Committee
- Member of the Investment Management Team
Sharad Vohra is a member of the Investment Management Team and works across all aspects of the investment strategy, and focuses on the underlying credit risk assessment and structuring solutions. Mr Vohra joined Astra in 2017 from Goldman Sachs in London, where he previously ran the EMEA CLO Trading platform. Sharad joined Goldman Sachs in New York in 2002 and spent 14 years in their structured credit division. Moving to London in 2005, to set-up the European CLO new issue business, which was consistently the Top 3 CLO arranger in Europe. In addition, Sharad has extensive experience in broader credit products including structured funding and illiquid asset financing.
Sharad has BSc in Applied Mathematics-Economics (Magna Cum Laude) from Brown University. Prior to transferring to Brown University, Sharad was pursuing an undergraduate degree in Economics at St. Stephens College, Delhi. Sharad is also a CFA charter holder.
Job Titles:
- Category: Legal and Compliance
- Compliance Associate
Shazad Karim is a Compliance Associate. He joined the Legal and Compliance Team at Astra in 2023.
Prior to joining Astra, Mr. Karim worked as a compliance advisor, and gained the Advanced Certificate in Regulatory Compliance from the International Compliance Association. Mr. Karim is a graduate from the University of Bristol where he achieved an MA in law and BA in Classical Studies.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Category: Investment Committee
- Member of the Investment Management Team
Shikha Gupta is a member of the Investment Management Team. Ms Gupta joined Astra in 2017 from Deutsche Bank where she had worked for 9 years. Ms Gupta managed the diverse portfolio of assets in excess of US$10BN at DB's Non-Core Operating Unit and formerly Winchester Capital, the principal finance unit at Deutsche Bank in London. She actively traded both synthetic and cash ABS securities including portfolios of US and European CLOs, CMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, ABS CDOs and Trups CDOs. She traded DB's global single name Subprime CDS book, portfolio CDS exposure and was responsible for managing risk for most ABS CDS trades across the bank. Additionally, she managed various esoteric investments including structured financing portfolio, failed securitisation exposures, liquidity facilities and investments in other PE Funds. In 2022, Ms Gupta was recognised as one of the 50 leading women in Hedge Funds, by the Hedge Fund Journal.
Ms Gupta holds a BTech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
Tejesh Kotecha is an investment analyst. Mr Kotecha works closely with the Investment Management Team and joined Astra in 2021, having previously worked in Structured Finance at Société Générale and Lehman Brothers.