GoldenTree Asset Management, a global asset management firm with nearly $47 billion in assets under management, hired Avi Felman as the firm’s head of digital assets trading. Felman will be a principal of the firm and report to Joe Naggar, a partner and member of the executive committee, who oversees the firm’s investments in digital assets. Felman will also be a general partner of GoldenChain, a wholly owned subsidiary of GoldenTree which will manage the funds launched by GoldenTree that will focus on digital assets.
Felman is one of the longest tenured traders in digital assets and has held several prominent positions, including most recently as co-portfolio manager and head of trading for BlockTower Capital.
GoldenTree’s partners have been personally investing in digital assets for years, and as the marketplace has expanded and matured, believe there is an attractive and increasing opportunity set that can be captured in GoldenTree’s opportunistic strategies.
“Our mission is to deliver differentiated returns in digital assets, as we have done in other asset classes such as corporate credit, distressed debt, emerging markets and structured credit,” Steve Tananbaum, founding partner and chief investment officer of GoldenTree, said. “Avi’s experience will help us focus on identifying unique digital opportunities that offer compelling risk-adjusted return potential for our investors.”
“I am excited to welcome Avi to our firm to work closely with me and lead our digital trading activity,” Naggar said. “ The digital asset ecosystem is increasingly relevant for institutional investors. Having invested personally in the asset class for years, there is an increasingly well-developed infrastructure as well as a growing continuum of opportunities that lend itself to active management. I am confident GoldenTree’s rigorous fundamental and relative value driven process, as well as our robust risk management infrastructure, will position the firm well to deliver differentiated returns in the asset class.”
“The GoldenTree team has impressed me with their thoughtful approach to the digital asset markets, as well as their conviction in expanding their products to include dedicated cryptocurrency offerings,” Felman said. “I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to join a team that has significant trading expertise across more traditional asset classes and an appreciation of the unique returns and challenges the digital asset market brings.”
