Bayview Asset Management (Bayview), a leading investment management firm has announced the launch of an insurance Asset Management business, bringing three decades of investing in mortgage and consumer credit to the new entity, Bayview Insurance Asset Management.
The new division will provide investment management services to the insurance and reinsurance industry.
According to the announcement, the new division will be led by Chief Investment Officer Nancy Mueller Handal, who previously served as the Head of Private Fixed Income and Alternatives at MetLife.
Under Mueller Handal’s leadership, Bayview will bring the skills and experience of its investment and operating teams, made up of over 1,450 global employees across loan origination, underwriting, servicing, accounting and analytics, to an insurance industry that is increasingly looking to diversify and expand beyond its traditional focus on corporate credit.
In her previous role at MetLife, Mueller Handal managed a 150-person team overseeing approximately $150 billion of investments.
Moreover, in 2012, she launched MetLife’s Residential Whole Loan Investment platform, and helped source more than $40 billion of residential mortgages, which included over $11 billion from Bayview.
In addition, she also created and implemented a Private Structured Products investment platform within MetLife in 2019. Mueller Handal is also a CFA charter holder, as well as a former member of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee and currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Structured Finance Association.
Also joining the Insurance Asset Management division, will be Alex Latella as Senior Vice President of business development. Formerly a member of the Insurance Solutions team at Blackrock, Latella brings a vast degree of industry expertise towards the role.
“I feel privileged to have the opportunity to partner with Nancy, whom I have long admired as a leader in residential loan and structured products investing,” said David Ertel, CEO of Bayview.
“Nancy is a one-of-a-kind executive, in the unique position of being one of the industry’s most thoughtful mortgage whole loan investors while having the insurance industry perspective of a senior executive. She is perfectly positioned to lead this natural extension of the Bayview business.”
“I partnered with Bayview while building MetLife’s industry-leading residential whole loan investment platform and I am thrilled to now be a part of the Bayview organization to bring its unique capabilities to the rest of the insurance industry,” added Mueller Handal.
“As MetLife’s Head of Alternatives, I invested across the Bayview platform as an LP and had the opportunity to directly observe and diligence Bayview’s highly differentiated sourcing and investing capabilities. Over 30 years, Bayview has developed a platform that includes deep and broad mortgage industry relationships, advanced analytical capabilities, comprehensive loan accounting expertise and an unparalleled risk management framework.
“There is a clear demand from insurance companies for a broader, diversifying set of investment opportunities and I am excited to work with my new colleagues at Bayview to further develop industry-leading solutions.”
