Kenneth Monaghan Joins Amundi Smith Breeden as Head of Global High Yield

DURHAM, NC--(Marketwired - Sep 15, 2014) - Amundi Smith Breeden today announced that Kenneth J. Monaghan has joined the firm as Head of Global High Yield. Amundi Smith Breeden is the North American investment headquarters for Amundi, the leading European asset management firm with more than $1 trillion in assets under management.

As Head of Global High Yield, a new position, Mr. Monaghan will lead the Firm's efforts to expand its developing domestic and global high yield strategies. Mr. Monaghan will report to Daniel R. Adler, Executive Vice President and Director of the Firm's Investment Management Group. He will work from Amundi Smith Breeden headquarters in Durham, North Carolina.

"We are pleased to have Ken joining us at this pivotal time in Amundi Smith Breeden's evolution. Ken brings a wealth of experience in building and managing domestic and global high yield portfolios. We're confident Ken will be an invaluable asset to Amundi Smith Breeden as we continue to expand our U.S. institutional offerings and client base," stated Mr. Adler.

Mr. Monaghan brings more than 30 years of experience in structuring high yield portfolios to Amundi Smith Breeden. Prior to joining Amundi Smith Breeden, Mr. Monaghan was Partner & Head of U.S. High Yield at Rogge Global Partners. During his tenure, Mr. Monaghan served as lead portfolio manager on U.S. high yield portfolios and co-manager on global high yield portfolios with total assets of approximately $1.6 million. Additionally, he managed the Firm's New York office.

Earlier, Mr. Monaghan was Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at ING Investment Management, following ING's acquisition of Bank Brussels Lambert, of which Ghent Asset Management, a registered investment advisory firm he co-founded, was a subsidiary. During this time, Mr. Monaghan researched and managed high yield portfolios with peak assets of $3 billion. He also negotiated the sale of ING's institutional high yield business to Rogge Global Partners.

Previously, Mr. Monaghan served as Director-High Yield Sales & Research at Salomon Brothers Inc. in New York and London. During his 12-year tenure, he served a number of Salomon's largest high yield clients; spearheaded the Firm's then nascent distressed high yield research effort; launched and headed Salomon's European credit research effort; worked with sales and trading personnel in London and Tokyo to develop European and Japanese high yield investor bases; and headed the Firm's New York high yield research effort, including training the generalist and high yield specialist sales force, and recruiting a high yield research team.

Mr. Monaghan began his career in high yield securities as a credit analyst at Lord, Abbett & Co.

Mr. Monaghan holds an MBA in Finance from the NYU Stern School of Business, an MPA in Urban Finance from the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from Colgate University.

About Amundi Smith Breeden
Amundi Smith Breeden is the North American investment headquarters for Amundi, a top-10 global asset manager. Amundi Smith Breeden manages a range of U.S. fixed income strategies and contributes to global fixed income portfolios managed by Amundi investment professionals in Europe and Asia. Smith Breeden, now Amundi Smith Breeden, was founded as a research-driven institutional asset management firm specializing in the major U.S. fixed income sectors. The firm has a 30+ year history of pioneering work in developing and applying quantitative financial analysis to valuing and trading fixed income securities, including Agency and non-Agency mortgage-backed securities and corporate credit. 

About Amundi
Amundi ranks first in Europe¹ and ninth worldwide¹ in the asset management industry with AUM of close to EUR 800 billion worldwide².

Located at the heart of the main investment regions in more than 30 countries, Amundi offers a comprehensive range of products covering all asset classes and major currencies.

Amundi has developed savings solutions to meet the needs of more than 100 million retail clients worldwide and designs innovative, high-performing products for institutional clients which are tailored specifically to their requirements and risk profile.

The group contributes to funding the economy by orienting savings towards company development.

Amundi has become a leading European player in asset management, recognised for:

• Product performance and transparency;
• Quality of client relationships based on a long-term advisory approach;
• Efficiency in its organisation and teams' promise to serving its clients;
• Commitment to sustainable development and socially responsible investment policies.
  
  

¹ Source IPE « Top 400 asset managers active in the European marketplace » published in June 2013, based on figures as at December 2012. Interviews with asset management companies on their assets as at end-December 2012 (open-end funds, dedicated funds, mandates).
² Amundi Group figures as of 31 March 2014.

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