Hedge Fund Focus

Acclaimed Corporate Credit Strategist Sam DeRosa-Farag Joins Morgan Creek Capital Management

13-Year Institutional Investor - Ranked High Yield Strategist Named Morgan Creek Principal

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Morgan Creek Capital Management, LLC, a $9 billion global investment management firm and registered investment advisor based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with offices in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing, has announced that Sam DeRosa-Farag has joined the firm to help lead Morgan Creek’s efforts in the credit sector.

Mr. DeRosa-Farag, was a member of the Institutional Investor “All-American Fixed Income Research Team” for 13 consecutive years from 1993 – 2006 and served for 24-years as a strategist in the corporate credit markets.

Mark W. Yusko, president and chief investment officer of Morgan Creek, said, “We are excited to have attracted an individual of Sam’s caliber and renown as a fixed income expert to help us develop and expand our product offerings in the credit markets. In today’s more challenging financial markets, debt has become the new equity. Sam will give Morgan Creek a differentiable advantage in providing our clients with credit market strategies to enhance their portfolios.”

Mr. DeRosa-Farag said, “As the world economy has slowed and financial markets have come under significant stress, the role of debt — not only to mitigate risk, but also to achieve higher portfolio returns — has increased.”

“In such volatile markets, our ability to develop and deliver unique, credit-related strategies and new investment solutions – as a complement to equity — offers an alternative approach to investing and provides long-term advantages to our clients,” Mr. DeRosa-Farag added.

Sam DeRosa-Farag

Prior to joining Morgan Creek, Mr. DeRosa-Farag was President of Ore Hill Partners LLC, where he was a member of the Investment Committee. While at Ore Hill, Mr. DeRosa-Farag was primarily responsible for new initiatives including structured products and risk management.

Prior to joining Ore Hill, Mr. DeRosa-Farag was a Managing Director of the Global Leveraged Finance Strategy and Portfolio Products Group and Co-Head of the High Yield Research Department of Credit Suisse. He joined the firm from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, which Credit Suisse acquired in 2000. At DLJ, Mr. DeRosa-Farag was a Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Research.

Prior to joining DLJ in 1997, Mr. DeRosa-Farag was head of High Yield Portfolio and Strategic Research at Chase Securities. He also developed and managed the High Yield Quantitative & Portfolio Strategies Group at CS First Boston, where he was employed for nine years.

Mr. DeRosa-Farag is an accomplished contributing author to many industry books and journals. Some of his most well known writings can be found in “The Handbook of Loan Syndications & Trading”, 2006; “High-Yield Bonds: Market Structure, Portfolio Management, and Credit Risk Modeling, 1999; as well as the June 1999 edition of The Journal of Fixed Income entitled, “Default Rates in the High Yield Market”. In addition, he has been a guest lecturer at many educational investment conferences around the globe.
Mr. DeRosa-Farag received a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Cairo University.

Morgan Creek Capital Management LLC

Morgan Creek Capital Management, LLC, was founded in 2004 by Mr. Yusko and other experienced investment professionals. Mr. Yusko, is the former Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Endowment. Morgan Creek provides investment management and advisory services based on the University Endowment Model of investing to wealthy families, individuals, and institutional investors. http://www.morgancreekcap.com

Contacts
Emerald Partners
Fraser P. Seitel, 201-784-8880
yusake@aol.com