Abacus Global Management, a company in the alternative asset management industry, launched an asset-based finance (ABF) strategy within Abacus Asset Group. The strategy will be led by Monty Cook, head of private credit at Abacus and former Head of asset-based finance – North America lending at Varde Partners, and Elena Plesco, chief capital officer at Abacus and former co-head of specialty finance at KKR.
The ABF strategy will deploy capital into asset-backed investments, combining institutional-quality origination and structuring expertise with Abacus’ proprietary insurance analytics and deep sector relationships. The strategy seeks to generate returns comprised of both current income and capital appreciation, with an emphasis on stable cash flows, low volatility and low correlation to broader markets.
“This strategy represents the natural evolution of our platform,” Jay Jackson, chairman and CEO of Abacus, said. “We have spent more than 20 years building institutional-grade capabilities in insurance analytics, actuarial modeling and specialty asset servicing. By combining that infrastructure with Monty and Elena’s proven track record in asset-based finance, we are positioned to deliver differentiated solutions in a market that continues to see significant institutional demand. More importantly, this product is a perfect fit for the balance sheets of our largest clients, insurance carriers, and we are looking forward to bolstering those relationships.”
Cook and Plesco bring a combined four decades of experience in ABF and specialty credit, with a ten-year history of collaboration and co-investment across multiple transactions at their respective prior firms.
Cook joined Abacus from Varde Partners, where he led the ABF lending business for North America. At Varde, he managed a team responsible for investing, underwriting and monitoring a diversified portfolio of asset-based finance investments. Prior to Varde, Cook spent eight years at THL Credit and its successor First Eagle Alternative Credit, where he was co-head of direct lending, head of financial services and focused on asset-based finance. He previously held positions at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan.
Plesco joined Abacus from KKR, where she spent nearly a decade and most recently served as co-head of specialty finance investing. At KKR, she focused on originating, structuring and managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios of asset-backed investments, including the joint venture between KKR and Abacus. She previously worked in the investment banking division of J.P. Morgan.
“Monty and I have worked together for over a decade, and we’ve seen firsthand how institutional demand for asset-based finance has grown,” Plesco said. “What excites us about building this strategy at Abacus is the combination of our origination network with the firm’s deep insurance expertise and data analytics capabilities. That combination is difficult to replicate.”
Cook added, “Asset-based finance offers investors something increasingly rare: stable, contractual cash flows with structural downside protection and minimal correlation to traditional markets. We see a significant opportunity to deliver these characteristics to institutional investors while leveraging Abacus’s established infrastructure.”
The ABF strategy will target investments across a broad range of asset classes, including consumer credit, equipment finance, receivables, small business loans, intellectual property rights and contractual cash flows. The strategy will maintain a primary focus on asset-backed lending, structured credit and corporate asset-based credit, with differentiated expertise in insurance-related assets including specialty insurance solutions, policy-backed lending, insurance carrier financing and other insurance-centric opportunities.
“This strategy is a natural extension of what we do, as life insurance policies represent only one facet of asset-based finance,” Jackson said. “We are applying the same origination discipline, institutional distribution capabilities and analytical rigor that have driven our success in longevity-based assets to an adjacent market with substantial unmet demand. For Abacus, it means another avenue to scale fee-related earnings and deliver value for our shareholders.”
