Napier Park Financial Partners

Alternative credit for institutions

Napier Park Financial Partners describes itself as a global choice in alternative credit. The firm manages money for institutions: around 85 percent of its client base is pensions, sovereign funds, endowments and insurance companies. The firm reports that long-term money dominates, with about 90 percent committed for over two years. Its stated aim is to create value for clients through differentiated products, global reach and the operational scale to run them.

Three lines of work

The firm sets out its strategies in plain terms:

• Alternative credit that fills the space between fixed income and equity, targeting stable returns whose modest volatility resembles that of fixed income.
• Corporate credit partnerships with the management teams of companies across North America and Europe that it believes do well across market cycles, using a differentiated approach to risk management and decisions based on process.
• Real asset investing in cash-generating, essential-use transportation and renewable energy assets, designed to give investors current yield while keeping room for gains.

A team that has worked together

The two leaders who founded the firm earlier ran the alternative investment division of a large banking group, which they reached after that group bought a firm they had set up together in 2005. Before that they each spent close to two decades in senior credit roles at a major investment bank. The site credits one of them with work on the first standardized credit default swap contract and on credit indexing and risk tranching. The firm says that this record, and the stability of a senior team that has managed investment teams together for decades, drives its culture of putting clients first, performance, integrity and teamwork.

Balance inside the firm

The site notes that more than half of the staff are not investment professionals, a mix it says fosters balance and control. It also describes investment in its people, processes and systems to strengthen its capabilities and secure results for clients. Its news archive shows partnerships in renewable energy and a rotational analyst program for early-career recruits.

Napier Park Financial Partners manages alternative credit investments for institutional clients. Its site states that most of its clients are pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and insurers. The firm says most of its capital is long-term.

Products and services

• Alternative credit strategies: aimed at filling the space between fixed income and equity with steady returns.
• Corporate credit partnerships: working with management teams in North America and Europe.
• Real asset investing: cash-generating transportation and renewable energy assets.

Who it works with

Institutional investors. About 85 percent of clients are pensions, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and insurers.

Key facts

• Founders: Jim O'Brien and Jon Dorfman, co-founders and managing principals
• Capital: about 90 percent has a tenor above two years
• Culture: client first, performance driven, integrity and teamwork