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Mesirow Financial pushes expansion in South Korea and North Asia

Tuesday, March 05, 2013
From Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia - Mesirow Financial Hong Kong Limited, a subsidiary of Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc., is pushing ahead with its expansion into South Korea and North Asia with the creation of a client service and business development position for the firm’s hedge funds group, Mesirow Advanced Strategies, Inc.

In a press statement, Mesirow announced that it has hired Chae-Joo "CJ" Lee as Head of Korea. In this newly established role, CJ will work in the firm's Hong Kong office and be responsible for client service and business development in Korea/North Asia.

"We take great pride in being a reliable partner for our clients, helping them design and implement strategic hedge fund programs," said Marty Kaplan, CEO of Mesirow Advanced Strategies, Inc. "South Korea is a sophisticated and growing marketplace for alternative investments. I am excited to bring our hedge fund solutions to this important part of the Asian market."

Muj Ali, managing director and head of the Hong Kong office, commented, "We are thrilled to expand our team with the addition of CJ. CJ has the experience and background necessary to help guide South Korean clients as they build their hedge fund strategies. I am confident that he will serve Mesirow Financial and our partners well as we continue to bring innovative, customized, hedge fund solutions to the Asia marketplace."

Before joining Mesirow Financial, Lee served as CEO and Head of Korea for FRM Investment Advisory in Seoul, where he worked closely with clients in implementing multi-manager hedge fund portfolio strategies.

Lee has more than 25 years of capital markets experience with a strong focus on serving sophisticated institutional investors. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in the United States from Indiana University.

Mesirow has been aggressively pressing on with new products to serve its clients this year. Late last month, the hedge fund firm partnered with Morgan Stanley to launch a new UCITS fund that offers exposure to its Absolute Return Plus Strategy.

“We are proud to provide UCITS investors with access to the Mesirow Absolute Return Plus Strategy, established by Tom C. Willis, an acknowledged market leader in the industry with over 30 years trading experience”, said Alvise Munari, Managing Director and Global Head of Equity Derivatives, Sales and Financial Engineering at Morgan Stanley.

Background
Mesirow Financial Hong Kong Limited and Mesirow Advanced Strategies, Inc. are both subsidiaries of Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc., a private, independent, employee owned, global financial services firm based in Chicago. Founded in 1937, the firm offers capabilities in Investment Management, Global Markets, Insurance Services and Consulting.

Mesirow Financial is ranked among the top-five private alternative investment firms globally with $58bn in alternative assets under management and core competencies spanning hedge funds, private equity, real estate, currencies, commodities, agriculture and other alternative strategies. Strategies are limited to suitable institutional investors.

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