Strategies
Seeking absolute returns in global credit markets through prudent risk management, discipline and operational excellence.
Strategies
The Firm’s investment strategies are based on fundamental bottom-up research implemented through dedicated commingled funds and separate accounts. Our team has extensive experience and expertise investing in credit dislocations through multiple economic cycles. Marathon’s team is fully integrated to capitalize on credit opportunities globally. Marathon possesses a unique, broad-based skill set and proprietary platform to research, analyze and act upon complex capital structures and situations.
Marathon Investment Strategies
Corporate Credit
Marathon’s Corporate Credit Platform invests across the capital structure in both performing and non-performing credit. Marathon’s credit platform includes investing in dislocated, mispriced, stressed and distressed corporate bonds in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Marathon’s multi-strategy corporate credit platform capitalizes on investment opportunities in performing corporate credit, distressed and special situations. We seek investment opportunities in which Marathon’s identifies attractive risk-adjusted returns. Investments may include capital structure arbitrage or long/short positions in a company’s capital structure which we believe will diverge or converge from their current trading levels. In the case of distressed assets, Marathon focuses on companies and capital structures entering or exiting a restructuring process. We focus on fundamentally strong companies that may be overleveraged or in need of rescue financing or restructuring. We often identify and invest in the fulcrum debt tranche and may take an active role in the restructuring process.
Corporate Credit Structures
- Hedge Funds
- Funds of One and Managed Accounts
- Thematic Multi-Year Drawdown Structures
- Long Only Funds
- ’40 Act Funds
- UCITS
Marathon Investment Strategies
Leveraged Loans
Marathon’s Leveraged Loan Platform invests in the senior secured loans of companies primarily in the U.S. and Europe. The platform aims to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns and provide downside protection by owning loans that are well-covered by the company’s operating business and the value of their underlying assets. Individual credit selection, as guided by Marathon’s credit research acumen, is based upon bottom-up fundamental credit analysis that has demonstrated differentiated results. Leveraged loans offer a stable source of current income, which rises with underlying interest rates due to the floating-rate component of their coupons. Marathon opportunistically invests in second lien loans and mezzanine debt in both dollar and non-dollar denominated loans.
CLOs
Marathon is a well-recognized CLO manager, opportunistically issuing Collateralized Loan Obligations (“CLOs”) when the firm believes attractive liability pricing and arbitrage opportunities are available. Marathon actively manages its CLO portfolios, utilizing its broad, experienced team of corporate credit analysts and a disciplined investment process to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its debt and equity class holders. Marathon carefully constructs the collateral that secures the CLOs and actively manages the transaction and the underlying collateral, to assess potential credit risks. Marathon will also perform documentation review, structural and relative value analysis for risk and alpha.
Loan Product Structures
- Long Only Funds
- CLOs
- Funds of One and Managed Accounts
- ICAV
Marathon Investment Strategies
Emerging Markets
Marathon’s Emerging Markets Platform seeks to identify and capitalize on opportunistic and situational investments across global emerging markets, with a global focus including Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Marathon invests in EM in sovereign debt, quasi-sovereign debt, corporate debt and special situations in hard currency and local denominations alike. Marathon will invest in assets that are performing, stressed or distressed based on the firm’s top-down and bottom-up investment analysis in pursuit of managing a core portfolio comprised of relative value, high yielding bonds and value investments. Marathon’s emerging markets team maintains a keen focus on the macroeconomic environment and the ripple effects caused by geopolitical risks and policy changes as they can have a pronounced impact on emerging market securities. The emerging markets team focuses on amplified dislocations that can create an enhanced opportunity set and performs rigorous value-based fundamental analysis.
Emerging Markets Structures
- Hedge Funds
- Long Only Funds
- Funds of One and Managed Accounts
Marathon Investment Strategies
Structured Credit
Marathon’s Structured Credit Platform is focused on a wide universe of the securitization markets that include complex distressed, downgraded, non-investment grade structured credit securities harnessing a credit-intensive and opportunistic approach. Assets include Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (“RMBS”), Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (“CMBS”), Collateralized Loan Obligations (“CLOs”), and Consumer and Asset Backed Securities (“ABS”). The strategy seeks to find undervalued and misunderstood structured securities and other asset-based credits through secured lending, secondary market purchases and other asset origination activities. The structured credit investment management team performs in-depth analysis to evaluate collateral at the loan / asset level and the capital structure of the securitization alike, and focuses on investments with downside protection through extensive stress testing and sensitivity analysis based on proprietary insights.
U.S. Treasury’s Public-Private Investment Program (“PPIP”)
In 2009, Marathon was selected as one of nine firms selected by the U.S. Treasury to manage a Legacy Securities Public Private Investment Program (PPIP) Fund. Through this program, the U.S. Treasury aimed to support market functioning post the Great Recession, facilitate price discovery in the mortgage-backed markets, allow “banks and other financial institutions to free up capital and stimulate the extension of new credit”, and generate “attractive returns for taxpayers and private investors”.
Structured Credit Structures
- Hedge Funds
- Long Only Funds
- Funds of One and Managed Accounts
Marathon Investment Strategies
Capital Solutions
Marathon’s Capital Solutions platform specializes in designing bespoke private credit transactions to high-quality companies in transition and seeks to invest $50 million to $500 million per transaction. We provide partnership capital to sponsors and management teams primarily in the form of senior secured unitranche loans, junior lien debt, mezzanine debt, convertible bonds and preferred equity. Our team has a demonstrated track record of providing fast, flexible and creative financing solutions to help companies address near-term needs and reposition for long-term growth.
Marathon Investment Strategies
Overview
Marathon has an established track record in real estate investment dating back to 2003. The Marathon Real Estate platform encompasses investments across the risk spectrum ranging from senior debt secured by commercial real estate through to direct ownership of complex opportunistic real estate assets. Our current real estate portfolio includes investments in multifamily, office, warehouse/logistics, hospitality, and retail properties. We have investments and professionals in the U.S. and Europe.
U.S. Real Estate
Marathon’s U.S. Real Estate platform directly originates senior transitional loans including term and bridge loans, mezzanine loans and preferred equity for commercial real estate throughout the United States. Loans may provide for acquisitions, repositionings, re-financings and recapitalizations of properties. Marathon’s direct lending program allows for increased risk mitigation through covenant protection, loan structuring, underwriting, and a deep due diligence process, as well as attractive yield generation given the distinct product it creates for its borrowers.
European Real Estate
Marathon’s European Real Estate platform engages primarily in the purchase of value-add commercial real estate and in special situations, including non-performing loans that allow Marathon to take possession of properties at a discount to market value. Asset management is central to Marathon’s investment philosophy. Using its experienced team of asset management professionals in combination with best in class third-party managers, Marathon is able to stabilize and invest in its properties as required, increase property cash flows and enhance property valuations. The platform has capitalized on the sale of NPLs as a result of the European financial crisis and the ongoing pricing dislocations across many commercial real estate sectors that were heavily discounted during the downturn. Marathon actively seeks opportunities that arise out of event driven distress or are caused by difficulties at the asset level.