Benefit Street Partners, Franklin Templeton’s private credit investment manager, has named Anant Kumar as global investment strategist with immediate effect.

In the newly-created role based in the US, Kumar, who joined Benefit Street in 2015, will lead the development of research-driven market insights and content for investors, and other key external stakeholders.

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He will also collaborate with Benefit Street’s investment teams across all strategies and geographies, as well as the business development, investor relations, marketing and communications functions, with the aim to help investors navigate and understand opportunities in the global private credit industry.

Kumar will remain head of credit research at Benefit Street, overseeing a team of more than 20 sector-focused analysts, and as a portfolio manager for Franklin Templeton and Benefit Street’s two closed-end interval funds, FBLUX and FBSPX.

He previously worked in the capital markets advisory group at Lazard Freres, and in the leveraged finance group at Deutsche Bank.

Kumar is the latest in a number of key hires at Benefit Street, including Takeshi Yamamoto as the firm’s new Japan lead, who previously worked at Blue Owl Japan, and Alex Denby as deputy head of Middle East, based in the UAE.

“Private credit is still growing and as more investors diversify their exposure and look for new opportunities, there is a need to provide more tailored and bespoke insight to support them,” said Allison Davi, co-chief operating officer at Benefit Street. 

“With Anant’s 20 years in finance, current oversight of the firm’s research team and his experience in portfolio management, he is perfectly placed to provide this new service.”

Benefit Street has $92bn (£68.1bn) in assets under management across private debt, real estate debt, structured credit, and liquid loans.

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