New Alternatives Marketer Gladius to Build Institutional Sales Team

Gladius Global Advisors, a start-up marketer of alternative investment funds, intends to hire several sales professionals, as well as a chief operating officer.

Chief Executive Officer Manny Abin founded New York City-based Gladius Global Advisors earlier this year to serve as a distribution arm for specialty boutique managers.  Abin previously served as head of global institutional sales for alternative investment manager Catalyst Capital Advisors.

Noting the growing popularity of alternative investments around the world, Abin said the firm would raise money in the United States, Europe and Latin America. “I love distribution, I have a very strong passion for it,” Abin told Private Equity Career News recently. “To me it’s building an infrastructure that is something very different.”

Members can read our previous coverage of the firm here.

Growing Team: Gladius Global Advisors plans to hire up to four institutional sales professionals over the next 12 months to join its three-person team of Abin, a sales analyst and a researcher focused on manager selection. The institutional sales positions may include two vice presidents and two analysts.  The vice presidents would serve as external wholesalers helping with capital raising and business development; the analysts would serve as internal wholesalers helping to identify opportunities and conduct due diligence. More immediately, the firm seeks a chief operating officer with at least 10 years of experience working in operations for hedge funds or private equity funds.

Qualifications: Candidates for the sales positions should have at least five to eight years of relevant experience for the vice president-level role and three to five years for the analyst role. It helps to have backgrounds in capital markets and asset management, such as having worked with bank trusts, registered investment advisors or family offices. The jobs may be based in New York City, but Abin would consider other locations. He hoped to finalize the job specifications later this year and to start hiring next year. The firm also may look next year for a professional focused on offshore sales. Interested candidates may send resumes and cover letters through the firm’s contact page.

Hybrid Model: With Gladius Global Advisors, Abin plans to offer both institutional sales and asset management in private equity, private credit and hedge funds. The firm plans to cultivate a trading floor atmosphere, but instead of selling securities its employees will sell commingled funds such as buyout funds sponsored by managers.

Products: The firm intends to onboard six managers in the coming months, covering areas that include hedge funds, private credit and private equity, Abin said. “The specialty boutique manager really resonates” with institutional investors, Abin said. “That’s what they’re looking for.”