CIFC's CLO Initiative for Change Makes Third Donation; Marks Second Donation to TEAK Fellowship
CIFC Asset Management LLC ("CIFC"), an alternative credit specialist serving institutional investors globally with more than $42 billion in assets under management, today announced the third donation made on behalf of the CLO Initiative for Change, the firm's philanthropic program in connection with collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs") issued by CIFC. For this donation, CIFC has partnered with the deal parties of its latest CLO, CIFC Funding 2024-II, including RBC Capital Markets, Appleby (Cayman) Ltd, Allen & Overy LLP, and Milbank LLP, to make a collective contribution of $225,000 to the TEAK Fellowship ("TEAK"). This donation is the second $225,000 financial contribution CIFC's CLO Initiative for Change has made to TEAK, a free, outcomes-driven academic and career access program for students located in New York City, and builds upon CIFC's existing partnership with the organization.
Founded in 1998 by Justine Stamen Arrillaga, TEAK empowers exceptional middle school, high school, and college students to achieve their full potential regardless of their financial situation. TEAK's programming, which includes academic support, mentoring, college success planning, leadership training, career guidance and intensive after school and summer classes, helps to ensure students are well positioned to thrive in their high schools, graduate from college, pursue their professional goals, and positively impact the world. In 2022, CIFC partnered with TEAK to host a weeklong summer workshop at CIFC's New York City office for prospective college students interested in pursuing a career in the financial services industry. For the past two summers, TEAK Changemaker Fellows have immersed themselves in the workshop, which included a series of educational presentations and team building activities focused on life at CIFC and career opportunities in investment management. This workshop, which CIFC will host again this summer, coupled with the CLO Initiative for Change's second financial contribution to TEAK, will allow TEAK to continue to unlock access to outstanding education and transformative experiences for students.
Mark Sanofsky, Managing Director at CIFC and a member of the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, said, "Over the past two years, we have developed a strong partnership with TEAK, an outstanding organization that believes motivation and potential, not economic circumstances, should determine a student's future. Through our summer workshops, we have seen first-hand the impact TEAK can have on the lives of New York City students and are proud to deepen our partnership with the organization. We would like to thank our CIFC Funding 2024-II deal parties for making this meaningful donation possible again this year."
Mukund Sadagopan, Head of CLO Banking at RBC Capital Markets, added, "RBC is honored to continue to support TEAK in its mission to empower the next generation of leaders through educational equity. We are also grateful to CIFC for offering us the opportunity to participate in the CLO Initiative for Change consistently since the start of the philanthropic program three years ago."
Dr. Denise Brown-Allen, Executive Director at TEAK, concluded, "Since our founding, TEAK has sought to transform the lives of students and communities at large. To accomplish this goal, we have created programming that provides students access to life-changing learning experiences and opportunities to explore career paths that they may have never considered. We are thrilled to expand our partnership with CIFC and its CLO Initiative for Change and look forward to leveraging this generous donation to the benefit of our Fellows and their academic aspirations."
Since launching in 2021, CIFC's CLO Initiative for Change has donated nearly $600,000 to support organizations driving social, economic, or environmental change. Today's donation to TEAK is the third donation made on behalf of the program and the second donation to TEAK by the program. Other beneficiaries of the program include Black Girls CODE.
About CIFC
Founded in 2005, CIFC is an alternative credit specialist offering investment solutions across CLOs, corporate, structured, opportunistic credit and direct lending strategies, designed to deliver consistently attractive risk-adjusted returns to investors globally. The firm leverages its fundamental-based research and deep experience investing across a wide variety of credit cycles and interest rate environments to target investment opportunities that generate alpha while preserving investor principal.
In December 2021, CIFC acquired LBC Credit Partners, expanding its alternative global credit platform into the private credit market. With the acquisition, CIFC currently manages over $42 billion in assets and employs more than 200 professionals in the U.S. and Europe.* To learn more, visit www.cifc.com or www.lbccredit.com.
*Information as of December 31, 2023.
About CIFC's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee
CIFC's Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee, which is led by senior leadership of the firm, is focused on advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. The Committee's mission is to increase awareness and establish strategies and operating plans that incorporate business alignment, leadership accountability and measured success in key areas. CIFC recognizes that diversity of backgrounds -- be it gender, ethnicity, experience, or other -- contributes to diversity of thought and a deeper understanding of the world and of the countries and companies in which it invests. CIFC believes this leads to better insight, increased creativity, more informed risk-taking and decision making, and stronger business and investment results for clients and stakeholders.
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