Abacus Global Management, a leader in the alternative asset management industry, announced the launch of 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's 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," said Jay Jackson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Abacus. "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."

Experienced Leadership Team

Mr. Cook and Ms. Plesco bring a combined four decades of experience in asset-based finance and specialty credit, with a ten-year history of collaboration and co-investment across multiple transactions at their respective prior firms.

Mr. Cook joined Abacus from Varde Partners, where he led the Asset-Based Finance 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, Mr. 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.

Ms. 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," said Ms. Plesco. "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."

"Asset-based finance offers investors something increasingly rare: stable, contractual cash flows with structural downside protection and minimal correlation to traditional markets," said Mr. Cook. "We see a significant opportunity to deliver these characteristics to institutional investors while leveraging Abacus's established infrastructure."

Investment Approach

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.

Key elements of the investment approach include:

• Institutional Origination Network: Access to proprietary deal flow through the team's extensive relationships, providing competitive advantages in sourcing and pricing.

• Specialized Underwriting: Rigorous credit discipline combining institutional ABF methodology with data-driven analytics from ABL Tech's platform for portfolio monitoring and risk management.

• Insurance and Actuarial Expertise: Unique ability to structure and evaluate insurance-centric opportunities, leveraging Abacus's 20-plus years of insurance expertise, proprietary actuarial models, and deep relationships with insurance carriers and reinsurers.

• Downside Protection Focus: Target of approximately 65% of investments in holdings with investment grade-like characteristics, defined as exposures with structural protections, collateralization, and credit metrics consistent with investment grade risk parameters.

The strategy will seek net risk-adjusted returns of 11–13%2, including capital appreciation, with target average investment duration of three to five years.

Strategic Rationale

The launch of the ABF strategy advances Abacus's broader objective of building a diversified alternative asset management platform with multiple sources of fee-related earnings. Asset-based finance represents a $20 trillion-plus market opportunity, driven by increasing institutional demand for investments offering predictable cash flows, low correlation to traditional markets, and structural downside protection.

"This strategy is a natural extension of what we do, as life insurance policies represent only one facet of asset-based finance," added Mr. Jackson. "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."