Established in 2018, Stratum Investments (“Stratum”) is a bespoke Managed Account platform that invests in European private equity backed sub investment grade loans.
Mizuho acts as collateral manager for Stratum, managing over €2.5bn assets across nine funds. Stratum's vehicles are available on both a levered (with Mizuho providing competitive senior tranche financing) and unlevered basis, and can be tailored to individual investors' risk and return appetites, with potential IRR returns reaching over 15%.
With over $5bn of commitments globally across leveraged loans and LP investments, Mizuho has long established institutional relationships with Private Equity sponsors, which Stratum is able to leverage in order to gain unrivalled market access to deliver superior returns for investors.
Stratum's unique value proposition
Exceptional Market Access
- An Arranger and Tier 1 investor through established relationships with Private Equity Sponsors, Arrangers and corporate clients
- Deep relationships with Private Equity cemented by LP investments. Strong and well regarded capital markets function, including loan sales & trading
Long-term Relationships
-
Opportunity to build a long-term strategic relationship with Mizuho and establish a partnership for future transactions
-
We look to develop long term and mutually beneficial relationships with investors that can withstand and adapt to changing market situations
Alignment of Interest
- Mizuho will commit its own balance sheet alongside Stratum for asset purchases, and each investment decision follows the same rigorous bank credit process
- Investors given veto rights over each collateral obligation
Detailed Asset Selection
- Ability to provide assets through an initial portfolio typically seasoned over a number of years with strong visibility of asset quality
- Strong focus on fundamental credit analysis by a highly experienced team and oversight by our independent risk management function
- Exclusive focus on leveraged loans further cementing our exceptional track record, experience and relationships in the asset class
Transparency
-
Appointment of an independent Corporate Service Provider and Collateral Administrator
-
Direct access to Mizuho as Collateral Manager with monthly reporting and quarterly investor calls
-
The transaction complies with risk retention regulations in Europe. Fair allocation and Conflicts of Interest policies are in place
Substantial Hold Capacity
- Significant asset taker of leveraged loans giving us access to early bird invites and preferential allocations
Management team
Stratum is managed by the International Acquisition Finance team at Mizuho Bank. Our Senior Management team is led by Matt Naber, Narinder Bhatowa, Andrew Mankin and Iker Revuelta, who have extensive experience developed over multiple market cycles with a combined 80+ years in the leveraged finance.
Matt Naber
Narinder Bhatowa
Andrew Mankin
Iker Revuelta
The team has delivered top quartile returns across Stratum funds vs peers as a result of Stratum’s core focus on high quality credits.