Disciplined credit selection across the full credit cycle

Shorecliff is a Full Cycle Credit℠ manager, focused exclusively on tradable performing credit: specifically, leveraged loans and bonds.

The core investment team worked closely together at Oaktree Capital Management in Los Angeles, gaining deep underwriting expertise and the cohesion needed to navigate different credit cycles. We believe Shorecliff’s exclusive focus on leveraged loans and bonds combined with our position sizing and lack of bureaucracy provide inherent and enduring sources of competitive advantages.​

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Shorecliff seeks to generate excess returns while controlling risk by focusing on credits with the following attributes:

High and sustainable asset coverage

Focus on evaluating businesses, industries, management teams, competitors, suppliers, risks and customer dynamics to maximize probability of high and stable asset coverage, regardless of the cycle.

Recurring cash flows

Focus on lending to businesses with sustainable, perceived predictable, and recurring cash flows across the full cycle.

Strong structural & legal protections

Focus on covenants, legal documentation, game theory and overall layering of protections in a potential insolvency scenario.

Shorecliff commenced trading in March 2023 with a meaningful commitment from an onshore institutional investor, and our transparent fee structures are designed to reduce potential conflicts and ensure strong alignment with our investors’ interests.

$1Bn+

Assets under management

18+

Average years of investment experience

5

Oaktree trained investment professionals

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Fundamental investment tenets

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01

Full cycle creditSM

Combine deep, fundamental, bottoms-up individual position analysis with market awareness, with the goal of avoiding excess risk of permanent capital impairment near market tops.

02

Loss aversion

Our training in distressed debt and special situations causes us to focus on what could cause severe impairment of our capital across all our exposures, even those that may appear “safe” today.

03

Sizing

The size of many large competitors can force them to own most of the market. We endeavor to keep position sizes appropriate to the market opportunity, and operate at a size where the team does not face pressure to deploy dollars in myriad situations that risk permanent capital impairment.

04

Credit picking

We think sizing positions appropriately is key to Shorecliff maintaining vigilance around risky exposures, and to screening for those credits we believe possess the essential triad of success: (1) high and consistent asset coverage, (2) recurring cash flows, (3) structural & legal protections.

05

Investment velocity

Larger institutions can suffer from bureaucracy, leaving them hidebound in changing markets. Our lean and flat team communicates constantly, allowing us to make decisions quickly. We designed our structure to find compelling opportunities, and exit investments where the thesis has deteriorated, faster than competitors.

06

Mandate

An Omnibus leveraged loan and bond remit designed to avoid artificial portfolio constraints. Shorecliff evaluates relative value within and across capital structures, sectors, and instrument types: targeting higher absolute returns across the full cycle while aiming to keep risk of permanent capital impairments under control.

Meet the team

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PRINCIPAL OFFICES

California

620 Newport Center Drive
Suite 1100
Newport Beach, CA 92660
United States

New York

410 Park Avenue
Suite 1210
New York, NY 10022
United States

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

London

12 Old Bond Street
London
W1S 4PW
United Kingdom

Hong Kong

Level 16
The Hong Kong Club Building
No. 3A Chater Road
Central, Hong Kong
Ryan Aylward
Senior Investment Analyst

Ryan Aylward is a Senior Investment Analyst, where he is responsible for fundamental investment analysis of leveraged loans and bonds across both primary and secondary markets. In addition, he is responsible for monitoring, dynamically underwriting, and re-underwriting portfolio investments, as well as researching sector themes and communicating them to Shorecliff’s portfolio management leadership. His primary industry coverage includes consumer & retail, financial services, technology, and homebuilders.

Prior to Shorecliff, Mr. Aylward worked at Playstudios, a publicly traded mobile gaming company, where he led M&A and strategic partnerships. Mr. Aylward began his credit-investing career at Oaktree Capital Management where he underwrote public and private leveraged credit investments across sectors.

Mr. Aylward holds a BBA in both Finance and Accounting from Baylor University where he graduated cum laude.

Anthony La Lota
Anthony La Lota
Portfolio Manager

Anthony La Lota is the Portfolio Manager of Shorecliff Asset Management, where he shares primary responsibility with Grant for the firm’s investment strategy, research process, and risk management.​

Mr. La Lota has 11 years of experience as a credit investor at firms including Crescent Capital, Oaktree Capital Management, and Bank of Ireland. At Oaktree, he worked directly with Grant, jointly evaluating and investing in performing and stressed corporate credit opportunities. His sector expertise includes aerospace, defense, media, technology, telecom, transportation, leisure, and services.​

Mr. La Lota holds a BS in Finance from Rutgers Business School, where he transferred after beginning his studies at the University of Michigan. During his collegiate career, Mr. La Lota played Division I football at both institutions as a full scholarship recipient. Mr. La Lota is a CFA Charterholder.

Phelps Hoyt
Senior Advisor

Phelps B. Hoyt is a seasoned financial professional with over 40 years of experience. Before his current roles, he spent nearly 11 years as Head of Credit Research and Strategy at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (“GIC”) and nearly five years as GIC’s Head of Americas Fixed Income. He led global teams across the US, Asia, and Europe, covering public and private credit, including large investments and co-investments with external managers.

Prior to GIC, Mr. Hoyt was Head of High Yield Research at Principal Global Investors where the team invested in global public high yield bonds. He also held senior credit investment roles at Aviva Investors, Fitch Ratings and KDP Investment Advisors.

He holds a BA in Economics from Middlebury College and an MBA from Northwestern University. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Ryan Aylward
Senior Investment Analyst

Ryan Aylward is a Senior Investment Analyst, where he is responsible for fundamental investment analysis of leveraged loans and bonds across both primary and secondary markets. In addition, he is responsible for monitoring, dynamically underwriting, and re-underwriting portfolio investments, as well as researching sector themes and communicating them to Shorecliff’s portfolio management leadership. His primary industry coverage includes consumer & retail, financial services, technology, and homebuilders.

Prior to Shorecliff, Mr. Aylward worked at Playstudios, a publicly traded mobile gaming company, where he led M&A and strategic partnerships. Mr. Aylward began his credit-investing career at Oaktree Capital Management where he underwrote public and private leveraged credit investments across sectors.

Mr. Aylward holds a BBA in both Finance and Accounting from Baylor University where he graduated cum laude.

Ryan Aylward
Senior Investment Analyst

Ryan Aylward is a Senior Investment Analyst, where he is responsible for fundamental investment analysis of leveraged loans and bonds across both primary and secondary markets. In addition, he is responsible for monitoring, dynamically underwriting, and re-underwriting portfolio investments, as well as researching sector themes and communicating them to Shorecliff’s portfolio management leadership. His primary industry coverage includes consumer & retail, financial services, technology, and homebuilders.

Prior to Shorecliff, Mr. Aylward worked at Playstudios, a publicly traded mobile gaming company, where he led M&A and strategic partnerships. Mr. Aylward began his credit-investing career at Oaktree Capital Management where he underwrote public and private leveraged credit investments across sectors.

Mr. Aylward holds a BBA in both Finance and Accounting from Baylor University where he graduated cum laude.

Grant Nachman
Grant Nachman
Chief Investment Officer & Chief Executive Officer

Grant Nachman is the Chief Investment Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Shorecliff Asset Management. In this capacity, he is responsible for overseeing the firm’s investment strategy, portfolio construction, research and analysis, and risk management, as well as leading Shorecliff’s overall business operations.

Mr. Nachman brings 21 years of principal investment experience across multiple cycles, having held roles at leading firms including Millennium Management, Oaktree Capital Management, and Brigade Capital. His expertise spans both performing and stressed capital structures, with sector coverage that includes technology, media, telecom, leisure, transportation, healthcare, industrials, services, and power. During and after the financial crisis, he invested in many of the largest corporate restructurings, serving as an active participant on seven creditor-side steering committees.

He holds an MBA from The Wharton School, a Master’s in Economics from The Sorbonne, and a BA in Economics from Swarthmore College.

Faith Harty
Senior Managing Director

Faith Harty is the firm’s Head of Capital Formation, working with both prospective and existing clients to solve for their portfolio needs.

Prior to joining Shorecliff, Ms. Harty worked at Littlejohn & Co, overseeing credit capital formation. Before Littlejohn, she worked at Marathon with a focus on fundraising from the family office space. She has also held roles at Carlyle and Paulson & Co. She started her career in investment banking at Dyens & Co. in Paris.

Ms. Harty holds a BA in French Studies from Colby College and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.