Schroders Capital names Stephan Ruoff co-head of Private Debt and Credit Alternatives

Asset manager Schroders Capital has given additional responsibility to its head of insurance-linked securities (ILS), with Stephan Ruoff now also becoming Co-Head of a newly formed Private Debt and Credit Alternatives (PDCA) business unit at the company.

Schroders Capital said today that has launched a new Global Debt and Credit business, in response to “growing interest from investors to harness these diverse asset classes.”

This new Private Debt and Credit Alternatives (PDCA) business oversees US $30 billion in assets already, bringing the Schroders Capital Real Asset Debt, Structured & Corporate Credit, Specialty Finance and Impact Lending under one unit.

It’s seen as a “robust growth engine for Schroders Capital,” the company said, and will be led by Stephan Ruoff and Michelle Russell-Dowe as Co-Heads of PDCA.

The pair will report into Georg Wunderlin, Global Head of Private Assets and both will be based in the United States.

For Ruoff this is a change in location, as he has been based out of Zurich since joining Schroders, but we understand he will relocate and now be based out of New York for a period of time while this new business structure is established.

Ruoff will also continue his responsibility as Global Head of Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) for Schroders Capital, while Russell-Dowe continues in her responsibility as Global Head of Securitised Product & Asset-Based Finance.

The new PDCA business will offer clients of Schroders Capital increased investment flexibility, by allocating capital to investment opportunities across the global debt space, with a broader range of accessible products and enhanced product development and communication between Schroders Capital’s specialist investment teams.

Co-heads of PDCA, Schroders Capital, Stephan Ruoff and Michelle Russell-Dowe, commented, “Investors are having to navigate an ever-evolving, often volatile market environment and they need dynamic and flexible solutions to navigate market conditions that are unfamiliar to many. We are witnessing structural changes that have resulted in higher interest rates.

“With this backdrop, there is a heightened focus on debt and credit. The creation of our PDCA platform allows us to provide clients with flexible solutions at a critical time whilst enhancing our perspective and improving our ability to manage change as we focus on delivering innovative dynamic solutions which will meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

“The combined expertise and streamlined approach will create a process and perspective that allows greater alignment to our clients’ needs and provides our partners with a broader array of investment options. Combining these crucial investment areas allows for better return profiles and a flexible approach to navigate these rapidly changing opportunity sets alongside core and strategic attractive investments.

“Given the global regime change, which we describe as the ‘3D Reset’ spanning deglobalisation, decarbonsiation and demographics, resulting in a historical income opportunity, this is the right time to accelerate our growing debt and credit business.”

Georg Wunderlin, Global Head of Private Assets, Schroders Capital, added, “Schroders Capital has evolved to what is now a global and trusted solutions provider in private markets for our clients. We only see the momentum behind its growth continuing, with a clear appetite from investors to capture the diversification and returns that private assets can offer.

“Global macroeconomics combined with the credit cycle are providing strong tailwinds particularly for debt and credit strategies. The private debt total market is estimated at ~$23 trillion, but only ~6% is currently served by private credit managers, leaving plenty of room for growth.

“We are excited to bring together our alternative credit businesses into one leading platform at such an opportune time. This will allow us to provide a wide range of flexible financing solutions to the market and a rich set of investment opportunities to our clients.”

You can read two articles from our recent interview with Stephan Ruoff below:

– For renewals, ILS portfolio construction & positioning are key: Ruoff, Schroders Capital.

– Bullish on private ILS, but cat bonds may grow fastest into 2024: Ruoff, Schroders Capital.