Firms & Funds

Ex-Fortress executive Andrew Berman eyes $500 mln for debut fund

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Graticule Asset Management Asia, Andrew Berman, Fortress Investment Group, private equity, hedge fund
Photo of Graticule's Andrew Berman sourced from LinkedIn
  • Targeting up to $500 mln
  • Joined on credit ops fund by ex-Tennenbaum exec
  • Berman joined Graticule last year

Andrew Berman, a former credit executive with Fortress Investment Group, is gearing up to raise a private equity-style credit pool with a hedge fund shop he joined last year, sources told Buyouts.

Berman is eyeing $500 million for his first credit opportunities fund with Graticule Asset Management Asia, sources said. He will be joined on the fund by Tim Gravely, managing director and portfolio manager in the credit business at Graticule, which Gravely joined last year, sources said.

Graticule Credit Opportunities Fund will target investments in special situations lending, corporate distressed investing and structured products, according to a Form ADV filed in March. Fund I will focus on investments in North America.

A spokeswoman for Graticule declined comment.

Berman joined Graticule Asset Management Asia after working at Fortress from 1998 to 2017, most recently leading asset-based lending and structured products, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Gravely worked at Tennenbaum Capital Partners from 2008 through June 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Ex-Fortress Chief Investment Officer Adam Levinson took control of Graticule in 2015; Fortress established the platform in 2014, according to the firm’s Form ADV. As of Jan. 31, 2018, Graticule managed about $5.8 billion, the Form ADV said.

As of March 1, 2018, Graticule employed 88, with 38 employees with the U.S. branch, the Form ADV said.

Fortress, meanwhile, was acquired by Softbank last year. The firm is getting ready to launch its next flagship private credit fund targeting less than the $5 billion it raised for the prior pool, Buyouts reported.

Fund V was expected in 2018, but more recently two LPs with knowledge of the firm said Fund V will likely be launched in 2019.

Berman is one of several high-level executives who have left larger shops to form their own funds, either independently or under other platforms.

Buyouts reported recently that Samuel Loughlin, former head of North American investments at Lone Star Funds, left to launch Paceline Equity, targeting $1.25 billion. Paceline makes special-situations investments in PE, corporate debt and real assets, Buyouts reported.

Action Item: Check out Graticule’s Form ADV here: https://bit.ly/2QMDg94