From Opalesque TV Chris Acito is the Founder, CEO and CIO of Gapstow Capital Partners, a $700 million multi-manager alternative investment firm focusing on opportunities in the public and private global credit markets. In this Opalesque.TV interview, Chris discusses how many investors, even alternative investors, historically have had a very narrow view of the asset class, a definition synonymous with distressed corporate debt and high yield. Gapstow defines credit more broadly to include corporate credit, structured credit, mortgage securities, whole loans, real estate debt, and bank hybrid investments. Chris points out that credit is typically only a small percentage of institutional investor portfolios - usually less than 10% of their overall portfolio. Given its low to moderate correlation to equities and its diverse set of alternative risk exposures, Chris sees an opportunity to educate investors on the benefits of investing in a broader credit universe. Learn about the following: A broader definition of the credit universe including: Corporate Credit Household/Consumer Credit Commercial Real Estate Bank Investments The rationale for increasing the allocation to credit in an institutional portfolio A comparison of the risks associated with credit investing and fixed income investing Valuing credit investments - One solution is to align interests for all parties The opportunities in niche RMBS strategies, community bank equity, Trust Preferred CDOs, and CLO equity The ability to create portfolios that are largely floating rate in format given the potential for an increase in interest rates in the near future Chris is Gapstow's Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. Chris has responsibility for managing the overall business, as well as investing each of the Gapstow funds. Prior to founding Gapstow in 2009, Chris was the Global Chief Operating Officer for Investcorp's Hedge Fund Group, which at its peak allocated nearly $8.5 billion in client and proprietary capital, across both multi-manager and single-manager hedge funds. In addition to managing a global infrastructure (New York, London, and Bahrain), Chris was responsible for creating both HFG's US-European capital raising efforts and its hedge fund seeding capability, which included nearly $2.5 billion in assets under management across eight managers. Prior to Investcorp, Chris enjoyed a ten-year career as a management consultant, first with Booz-Allen & Hamilton's Banking & Capital Markets practice, then later branching off to found Casey, Quirk, & Acito, a specialist firm focusing exclusively on the global investment management industry. Chris began his career as an economist. He served on the President's Council of Economic Advisers in both the Bush and Clinton administrations, where his areas of expertise were financial markets and macroeconomic policy. He was also the Managing Director of the Center for Population Economics, a Chicago-based group dedicated to researching issues in health economics under the direction of Noble Prize winner Robert W. Fogel. Chris holds a B.A. in Economics from Duke University and an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and is currently the Chair of the Board of Trustees for The Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey.