Invast Global poaches veteran banker Matt Harris from Credit Suisse
Sydney-based prime-of-prime provider Invast Global has hired veteran banker Matt Harris from Credit Suisse Group AG, as it doubles down on investing in its liquidity franchise. He steps into the role of Director of Prime Services with immediate effect.
Harris is a seasoned financial services industry professional with over 20 years’ experience cutting across banking and prime brokerage services. He has strong networks with international investment banks, corporate clients, regulators and peers in the sector.
Most recently, Harris spent six years at Credit Suisse’s prime services for private banking (PS4PB). The unit caters to a client segment that includes mid-sized hedge funds and family offices and other buy-side institutions, which are currently experiencing a variety of challenges, such as accessing the wholesale foreign exchange price matching community via a prime brokerage model.
His departure was the latest of a series of talent losses Credit Suisse has suffered after its lending exposure to a troubled investment fund led to a huge loss. A string of investment bankers, even those not involved in the debacle, jumped ship due to the financial and reputational fallout for the bank.
Commenting on his appointment, Matt Harris said he is “…keen to get stuck into a place that is smaller, up and coming and a disruptor in the hedge fund and family office landscape. Invast Global has the unique opportunity to become the alternative prime that is willing to take on and nurture emerging funds and offices that the larger primes have lost an appetite for.”
Gavin White, CEO of Invast Global, added: “Matt’s clear focus on client relations and strong, proven expertise in managing sophisticated investors is an asset to Invast Global. We are extremely excited to secure talent of Matt’s calibre. His expertise will add another layer to our expertise and enhance our reputation in the market as being extremely client focussed as we tailor products to meet our client’s needs.”
Invast Global has been ramping up hiring to capture more market share in a booming PoP environment. Traditionally, only the largest funds and institutions have been able to get access to the benefits provided by the non-bank market makers. This is because access has relied on the client having a tier one prime broker relationship.
The new hires also follow growing global demand for Invast’s PurePrime facility. Tailored for institutional clients, brokerages, hedge funds and sophisticated traders, PurePrime offers optimised FX and CFD liquidity via multiple trading GUIs or API, backed by tier one prime brokers.
