BNY Mellon has added two new private markets experts to its EMEA asset servicing team, bolstering its capabilities in one of the fastest growing segments of the alternatives market.
Both additions come from fund administrators as private markets experts remain in high demand, due to their unique expertise.
Greg Kok joins as director, private equity, real estate, debt and infrastructure from Maitland, where he was head of management company services. Kok had previously worked for FundRock Group and Franklin Templeton in a wide range of operational, risk and portfolio management roles within the alternatives sector.
Robert Burchett-Coates has also been appointed as director, private equity, real estate and infrastructure from fund services provider Zedra. He has over 15 years’ experience in fund services, including roles at Deutsche Bank, Man Group and JP Morgan.
Kok will be based in Luxembourg and Burchett-Coates in London. Both report to Brian McMahon, managing director and business development executive within BNY Mellon’s alternative investment services division.
Private market assets under management (AuM) have riseb exponentially in recent years reaching approximately $5.8 trillion in 2018, up 12% from 2017, according to McKinsey.
In a recent interview with Global Custodian, BNY Mellon’s global head of alternatives, Alan Flanagan, highlighted that private equity, infrastructure and private credit were the fastest growing of all the private market asset segments.
As a result of this trend, securities services firms have been adding to their teams over the past year, including HSBC setting up an entirely new department. JP Morgan and Brown Brothers Harriman have recently made efforts to bolster their private equity administration arms, along with other established fund administrators including BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon and State Street who are devoting extra resources to the business.
“Private equity, real-estate and private debt remain ‘hot’ sectors at present, with sales roles being seen much more often than others, with a corresponding uptick in remuneration,” said Paul Chapman, owner of specialist recruitment firm Hornby Chapman.