Experienced Team of Research, Trading & Portfolio Experts
Xtract Europe is a product of Xtract Research, the leading provider of covenant and terms analysis for US Convertible, High Yield and syndicated Loans. Xtract Research was founded by Michael G. Knox, CFA, a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager with 21 years of investment management experience and Manish Aggarwal, with 11 years of hedge fund experience. The service is designed to provide institutional investors with access to high quality covenant reports prepared by a team of experienced finance lawyers, as well as providing access to a full library of source documents. Our proprietary technology platform enables clients to quickly compare covenants across various bonds and makes the process of covenant analysis more efficient.
We believe the best way to review our service is for an in office demonstration of the service. Please contact us to arrange a meeting or discuss any questions about the service at +44 (0)20 7059 6202.
Management Team
Michael G. Knox, CFA, President, 21 Years Experience
Mike co-founded Xtract Research in 2005 and is the President. Prior to founding Xtract Research, he was a founding partner and portfolio manager with Hamilton Investment Management LLC where he oversaw the Convertible Arbitrage, Credit and Special Situations strategies. He held the same roles at Hamilton's predecessor, Hamilton Partners Limited and was with the combined firms for 7 years. Prior to joining Hamilton, he was a Portfolio Manager with Morgan Stanley Advisors (previously Dean Witter InterCapital) where he managed one of the largest Convertible mutual funds in the country as well as co-managed the firm's Equity Income fund. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he was a high yield and convertible Portfolio Manager for Eagle Asset Management and a trader/analyst for Eagle's sister company, Heritage Asset Management. Mike has a BA from Ohio Wesleyan University, an MBA from The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Manish Aggarwal, Managing Partner, 11 Years Experience
Manish co-founded Xtract Research in 2005 and is a Managing Partner. Prior to founding Xtract Research, he was actively involved in a start-up financial support company to develop outsourcing solutions for hedge fund operations. Prior to joining this venture, Manish was a trader in the risk arbitrage group at a multi-strategy hedge fund, Hamilton Investment Management LLC. He had joined Hamilton's predecessor (Hamilton Partners Limited) in June of 1997 as a trading assistant, and was instrumental in developing the in house back office processes and systems. Manish has a BS in accounting from the City University of New York (Hunter College).
Natasha Brooks, European Managing Director
Natasha joined Xtract Research in April 2010 to launch Xtract Europe into the European marketplace. Prior to joining Xtract, Natasha was Managing Director of Pharmawire, a proprietary intelligence service focusing on the healthcare sector for the financial community. Before this, Natasha worked on a sister service to Pharmawire, Debtwire, responsible for new sales to the buyside in the distressed debt and high yield space. Previous experience also includes 6 years at Euromoney Insitutional Investor Plc during which time she set up a business introducing early stage and start-up hedge fund managers to service providers. Natasha holds a BA (Hons) degree from Cambridge University.
Legal/Research Team
Robert P. Blank, Esq., 36 Years Experience
Bob began his 36-year legal banking career as an associate at Shearman & Sterling, where he specialized in bank lending and corporate financing transactions. Thereafter, he spent almost 20 years working on a variety of financing and investment banking matters as a Managing Director and Counsel in the Legal Department of Bankers Trust Company (now part of Deutsche Bank AG). He then spent two years at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP as Counsel specializing in UCC Article 9 transactions. Most recently, he worked at Luskin, Stern & Eisler LLP (since acquired by Hughes, Hubbard & Reed) where he worked on a variety of bank and other lender loan transactions. Bob is a 1970 graduate of Yale College and a 1973 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Bob is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.
Justin M. Smith Esq., 8 Years Experience
Justin has 8 years of experience as a lawyer in acquisition finance, secured and unsecured lending, debt restructurings, securities and mergers and acquisitions. He serves as Xtract's Senior Covenant Analyst and is responsible for overseeing Xtract's review and analysis of indentures, credit agreements, and other debt documents. Prior to joining Xtract, Justin was a corporate finance associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in New York where he represented private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in acquisition financings, bank loans and other finance transactions. Prior to joining Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Justin was a corporate associate at Sidley Austin LLP in New York where he represented issuers and underwriters in private placements, debt equity and convertible securities. Justin received a BA from the University of Virginia and a JD degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law. Justin is admitted to practice law in New York and is a member of the New York State Bar Association.
Richard L. Tavrow, Esq., 40 Years Experience
Over his 40-year legal banking career, Dick has served as Senior Vice President, Secretary, General Counsel, and a member of the Board of Directors of two major international corporations, the shares of one of which were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and as a Partner in a New York City law firm. In these positions, he has had extensive and intensive experience with diverse domestic and international commercial and transactional legal and business matters, including negotiating, drafting, and advising on large, complex secured and unsecured loan and other credit and financing facilities. He also served as Chief Counsel of a Federal agency involved in regulating the U.S. Balance of Payments and international finance matters. Most recently, he worked for over the past ten years for UBS AG, serving as a Director and heading the Documentation-Unit of Banking Products Services, which has the exclusive responsibility within UBS for handling, reviewing, and executing all types of credit facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Dick received the A.B. magna cum laude in Economics, LL.B., and LL.M. degrees from Harvard University and attended the Universities of Copenhagen and Luxembourg as a Fulbright Scholar. Dick has been admitted to practice law in California and New York.
Christina Kulawas, Esq., 30 Years Experience
Christina has 30 years of experience as both a lawyer and as a commercial loan workout officer. Her legal experience includes secured and unsecured lending (representing both lenders and borrowers), debt restructurings, acquisition financing and entertainment law. Most recently, Christina worked in-house in the Legal Department of a major international financial institution and had previously been a corporate associate at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP in NY before joining a small corporate law firm as Counsel. Christina received a BS from St. John's University and a JD degree from Fordham School of Law where she was on the Law Review. Prior to passing the bar, Christina was a commercial loan workout officer at several major financial institutions, including Bankers Trust Company. She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.
Valerie A. Potenza, Esq., 12 Years Experience
Valerie has over 10 years of experience as a lawyer in secured lending, securities offerings and structured finance. She has represented lenders, borrowers, underwriters and asset originators in secured lending facilities, warehouse facilities and public and private debt offerings. She has negotiated and drafted credit agreements, security agreements, intercreditor agreements, indentures and offering documents. Ms. Potenza practiced law in the Finance and Real Estate Group at Dechert LLP for ten years and began her career in the Latin American Practice Group at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle. Ms. Potenza is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and Rutgers College. She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.
Ross Hallock, Esq., 10 Yrs. Experience
Ross has 10 years of experience as a lawyer in acquisition finance, secured and unsecured lending, debt restructurings, high-yield debt issuances and mezzanine debt issuances. He has represented both issuers/borrowers and providers of capital. He has negotiated and drafted credit agreements, indentures, security agreements, intercreditor agreements and offering documents. Ross practiced law in the Global Finance Group at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and in the corporate department at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Ross is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Dartmouth College. He has been admitted to practice law in the State of New York.
Danielle DePalma, Esq., 5 Years Experience
Danielle has over 5 years experience as a lawyer specializing in lending and corporate financing transactions. She most recently held a position as Vice President and Senior Counsel at CIT Group Inc., providing legal support to their Commercial & Industrial division. Prior to CIT, she was an associate in the Banking and Finance group at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP negotiating financing transactions on behalf of financial institutions, financial sponsors and corporate borrowers. Danielle was also an associate in the finance group at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP where she represented hedge funds in acquisition financings and other finance transactions. Danielle received a B.A. in Economics from New York University and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Danielle is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.
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