MA Financial expands asset management division

Mr Habis joins MA Financial from Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon where he held the role of managing director and global head of client coverage asset servicing based in New York.

Prior to that, Mr Habis was a managing director at Citi’s Institutional Client Group and held senior roles in the Middle East and Africa such as head of global family office MENA and head of private bank, Saudi Arabia and UAE.

He will be responsible for further building on MA Financial’s global institutional investor relationships in the real estate sector, particularly in the Middle East.

According to head of MA asset management, Andrew Martin, Mr Habis will work alongside Mike Pyke, the group’s head of institutional capital along with its investment teams to implement an institutional client strategy to bring the group’s full suite of alternative asset capabilities to global investors.

The group confirmed Mr Habis will commence with his new role in mid-June.

Mr Martin commented further: “We’re delighted to welcome Anthony to MA Financial.

“Anthony is a proven leader and brings 26 years of experience in global capital origination and coverage, serving the investment needs of leading global investors.

“Anthony’s combined experience across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America will strengthen our capability and help accelerate our growth plans and ambitions for these important regions.

“We are particularly excited about Anthony’s deep insights and senior relationships in the Middle East where there is growing appetite to invest in alternative assets and private market investments in Australia and globally.”

On his new role, Mr Habis said: “I am delighted to be joining MA Financial, a firm with a demonstrable track record in partnering with specialist operators to invest in globally aligned growth trends and sectors. There is significant interest in MA’s capabilities in real estate and other alternative asset classes in the region.”

US credit asset manager acquired

In early May, MA Financial announced it purchased New York-based credit asset manager Blue Elephant Capital Management for US$5 million ($7.5 million).

The diversified financial services firm said that the deal would provide it with a platform for growth in global credit markets, with an initial focus on the estimated US$5 trillion of addressable opportunities in the US alternative and specialty finance segment.

[RELATED: MA Financial acquires US credit asset manager]