Challenger's former head of fixed income Bob Sahota has joined global fixed income specialist Kapstream, which manages more than $10 billion.
Sahota, who Street Talk revealed had resigned from the financial services company in September, will join Kapstream as a portfolio manager and head of direct lending.
Kapstream, which was co-founded in 2006 by former PIMCO operative Kumar Palghat, was acquired in 2015 by Janus Capital, not long after bond-king Bill Gross left PIMCO himself to join Janus.
Earlier this year Janus merged with Henderson to create a $US322 billion global funds management firm, leading Palghat to be appointed global head of fixed income.
Sahota was in charge of Challenger's corporate, private, high-yield and alternative debt investments, and led his company's move into lending on behalf of third-party superannuation clients in recent years.
His Challenger Life insurance investment portfolio had $9.3 billion invested in fixed income at June 30, accounting for 66 per cent of the unit's wider investment portfolio.
Sahota joined Challenger in 2005 and previously worked at AMP Capital and MLC Investment Management as a portfolio manager.
"We've worked with and known Bob for most of his career, and his joining could not be at a better time," Palghat said on Monday.
"In this prolonged period of low rates and low absolute returns we've been working with a number of our clients to think about other ways of sensibly generating additional returns in fixed income portfolios," he added.
"Exploiting the illiquidity premium that exists today in certain assets – such as leveraged loans and real estate debt – is one. Bob has operated at the forefront of this part of the market for over a decade and his experience investing in private debt, and transaction sourcing and negotiation, is second to none."
