Hedge Fund Focus

Cogent Partners to launch hedge fund advisory effort with Pascale Alvanitakis-Guély

London, 11 May 2009 – Cogent Partners, a specialty investment bank focused on alternative assets, today announced the launch of a new hedge fund advisory business and the appointment of Pascale Alvanitakis-Guély, a former Lehman Brothers Managing Director, as a Senior Adviser to spearhead this initiative.

The new effort will be focused initially on advising institutional investors on the sale on the secondary market of hedge fund interests and hedge fund illiquid assets, as well as advising managers on hedge fund restructurings. It will gradually expand to other corporate finance advisory services for hedge funds and their institutional investors.

“This is an exciting strategic development for Cogent”, said Brenlen Jinkens, Managing Director at Cogent Partners. “There are significant synergies between the private equity and hedge fund institutional investor base. Pascale’s expertise and knowledge of the hedge fund industry will allow Cogent to consolidate its position as the global leader in secondary market investment banking across the alternative asset management industry.”

Pascale Alvanitakis-Guély has 20 years of advisory experience as a banker and a strategy consultant focusing on banks, insurers, asset managers, hedge funds and private equity groups. Ms Alvanitakis- Guély recently set up Audentis Partners, a hedge fund-focused advisory company, and was formerly a Managing Director of Lehman Brothers in London responsible for advising hedge funds on private equity transactions and on their corporate finance activity including selling stakes, raising permanent capital or taking their businesses public. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers in 2000, Ms Alvanitakis-Guély worked at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, UBS and Arthur Andersen.

“Hedge fund investors face unprecedented challenges” said Pascale Alvanitakis-Guely. “The secondary market for hedge funds is an important part of the solution, but the market is still under-developed and relatively unstructured. There is a compelling need for specialist, independent advice to help structure larger and more complex transactions.”

About Cogent Partners

Cogent Partners is a leading investment bank that specialises in private equity secondary transactions, the monitoring, diligence and valuation of private equity fund managers, and other, related projects for institutional investors in alternative assets. Recognised globally as the leader in private equity sell-side advisory services, Cogent Partners has earned a reputation for successfully initiating, marketing, negotiating, structuring and closing the sale of private equity assets. Since inception the company has advised on more than $25 billion in private equity commitments. Cogent Partners is headquartered in Dallas, with offices in New York, London and Tokyo.

For more information please visit www.cogent-partners.com

Contacts:
Brenlen Jinkens
Managing Director
Cogent Partners
bjinkens@cogent-partners.com
+44 20 7260 1830