New York, October 7 /PRNewswire/ — Nearwater today announced the appointment of Kylie Duff as Managing Director and Head of Global Risk Retention and Structured Credit Capital Solutions.
In line with the company’s focus on delivering customized capital solutions to clients, Duff will lead Nearwater’s market-leading risk retention business in global securitization products and build its strategic risk transfer platform. Duff will also work closely with Nearwater’s liquidity markets and capital markets teams to further expand the financial resource solutions available to clients. This strategic risk transfer platform will be designed to help banking clients manage regulatory capital, risk-weighted assets, and concentrated credit exposures.
James Peterson, Managing Partner at Nearwater, said: “Kylie’s appointment reflects Nearwater’s ongoing investment in talent, capabilities, and infrastructure to address the increasingly complex capital challenges faced by leading global financial institutions and credit market participants. Our clients choose Nearwater because we combine capital, structural design, regulatory expertise, and execution capability. Kylie’s extensive experience in structured finance and her broad connections within the global asset management and investor community will help us further solidify this leadership position and build a differentiated, scalable platform in risk retention and strategic risk transfer.”
Before joining Nearwater, Duff worked at Morgan Stanley, where she most recently served as Head of Structured Corporate Capital Markets for North America. In this role, she was responsible for originating, structuring, and distributing nearly $180 billion across more than 350 CLO transactions. She also managed relationships with leading asset managers and institutional investors and developed customized financing strategies for corporate clients. During her 18-year tenure at Morgan Stanley, Duff worked in both New York and London, covering the U.S. and European ABS, CLO, CMBS, and RMBS markets.
Duff said: “Nearwater’s platform is built on innovation and expertise. The company is already a distinguished capital solutions partner for major banks, asset managers, and sponsors. I look forward to expanding its existing risk retention business, building out its risk transfer business, and leveraging Nearwater’s flexible and creative capabilities to identify new solutions for clients.”
Duff will be responsible for the business and operational models of both initiatives, including senior client and sponsor coverage, transaction structure design, investor communication, and distribution. She will also recruit and lead a dedicated team to support the platform’s ongoing growth.
Duff’s appointment follows the recent addition of two other executives to the Nearwater risk retention financing team.
Reggie Fernandez joins as Managing Director, bringing over 20 years of experience in structured finance within capital markets and trading. Most recently, he served as a Managing Director at Natixis, where he led the syndicated securitization products business. Fernandez holds an MBA in Finance from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts from The College of Wooster.
Kevin Sorgi has joined the company’s New York office as Managing Director, responsible for RMBS coverage. He brings over 16 years of experience in structured finance, with deep expertise in residential mortgage securitization and capital markets. Prior to this, Sorgi served as Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase’s Global Securitized Products Group, Vice President at Citigroup’s Global Securitized Markets Group, and an analyst in the Securitization and Transaction Services group at Deloitte. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Loyola University Maryland.
About Nearwater
Nearwater is an established leader in developing and delivering innovative, client-focused capital and asset-backed financing solutions for leading global banks, asset managers, sponsors, and original equity providers. Through its integrated risk retention solutions, liquidity markets, and capital markets businesses, Nearwater combines flexible capital, market expertise, structuring capabilities, and regulated infrastructure to help clients achieve their financing, liquidity, balance sheet, regulatory capital, and risk transfer objectives. Nearwater Capital Markets, Limited is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a security-based swap dealer, and Nearwater Capital Markets Europe, Limited is a MiFID investment firm regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.