CIFC Asset Management LLC is a financial advisor firm headquartered in New York City and with a branch in London.
The firm works exclusively with institutional clients. If you’re an individual looking for a financial advisor, try out SmartAsset’s free matching tool.
CIFC Asset Management Background
CIFC Asset Management is part of CIFC Corp.’s group of financial services companies. The firm was founded in 2005. Today, it is under the leadership of CEO and chief investment officer Stephen Vaccaro and chief operating officer John DiRocco.
The advisor team at CIFC Asset Management boasts a significant number of certifications, including chartered financial analysts (CFAs) and certified public accountants (CPAs).
CIFC Asset Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
The primary clients of CIFC Asset Management are collateralized loan obligation (CLO) funds, private investment funds and investors in corporate and structured credit. CIFC also manages accounts for a handful of insurance companies, corporations and other investment advisors.
CIFC Asset Management doesn’t explicitly require any minimum initial investments or minimum account sizes.
Services Offered by CIFC Asset Management
CIFC Asset Management’s hallmark service is discretionary investment management. In order to do this, the firm’s team of advisors complete original research and assessments of various investment opportunities and markets. These advisors also focus on strong diversification to avoid security imbalances and engage in active portfolio management and continuous rebalancing and strategy reassessment.
CIFC Asset Management Investing Philosophy
CIFC Asset Management utilizes a fundamentals-based approach to investing. This ideology is centered around a combination of relative value trading and constant rebalances. By maintaining this approach over time, the firm will learn about various gaps on the levels of both markets and securities, which it can then use to leverage for stronger returns.
Fees Under CIFC Asset Management
Although CIFC Asset Management does not release specific fee rates for its services, it does state that fees are negotiable on a client-to-client basis. Some of the types of fees it charges include senior management fees, subordinated management fees and performance-based fees.
In general, CIFC charges its fees each quarter based on the total amount of assets under management that a fund or client has invested. The only exception to this is performance-based fees, as they are only charged when a specific performance benchmark is hit.
CIFC Asset Management Awards and Recognition
CIFC Asset Managment was named "CLO Manager of the Year, Americas" by Private Debt Investor in the years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
Additionally, in 2016, Creditflux awarded the firm "Best High Yield Fund," "Manager of the Year" and "Best CLO Fund."
What to Watch Out For
CIFC Asset Management has one disclosure reported on its 2021 Form ADV. However, this lone disclosure dates back to 2011 and involves Deerfield Capital Corp., which is one of the predecessor firms to CIFC Asset Management and no longer exists.
Also worth noting: certain clients at CIFC Asset Management will be charged performance-based fees. These can pose conflicts of interest, since advisors have the financial incentive to favor these accounts and to take on risk. That said, the firm is bound by its fiduciary duty to act in its clients' best interests, no matter what.
Opening an Account With CIFC Asset Management
The best way to get in touch with CIFC Asset Management is by phone at (212) 624-1200.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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