Highland Capital Management is an alternative investment management firm that manages

hedge funds A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that holds liquid assets and that makes use of complex trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and insulate returns from market risk. Among these portfolio techniq ...

, structured investment vehicles and

mutual fund A mutual fund is an investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase Security (finance), securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV in ...

s. The firm invests in global public equities, as well as

fixed income Fixed income refers to any type of investment under which the borrower or issuer is obliged to make payments of a fixed amount on a fixed schedule. For example, the borrower may have to pay interest at a fixed rate once a year and repay the pr ...

markets with a focus on

leveraged loan In finance, leverage, also known as gearing, is any technique involving borrowing funds to buy an investment. Financial leverage is named after a lever in physics, which amplifies a small input force into a greater output force. Financial leverag ...

high yield bond In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events ...

s, and

structured product A structured product, also known as a market-linked investment, is a pre-packaged structured finance investment strategy based on a single security, a basket of securities, options, indices, commodities, debt issuance or foreign currencies, an ...

s. The firm is headquartered in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. It also operates offices in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

and Singapore. Highland reported approximately $13.9 billion of

assets under management In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, refers to the total market value of all financial assets that a financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institutio ...

in 2018. In October 2019, Highland Capital Management filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

protection.

Overview

Highland Capital Management was founded in 1993 by James Dondero and Mark Okada. The firm was responsible for designing the first software to electronically track loan portfolios, which is used by a majority of loan managers. Highland sold the software to

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

in 2003. In April 2004, Highland entered the mutual fund space with its acquisition of Columbia Management Advisors' bank loan mutual fund business. The company acquired NexBank in 2004. In April 2005, Highland acquired ING Capital Management. The acquisition marked Highland's first move into Europe. Highland Capital Management has been involved in a number of high profile bankruptcies and reorganizations related to

distressed debt In corporate finance, distressed securities are securities over companies or government entities that are experiencing financial or operational distress, default, or are under bankruptcy. As far as debt securities, this is called distressed debt. ...

investments. Highland was involved in the bankruptcy of

Bridge Information Systems Bridge Information Systems, Inc., was a financial news and data provider that was acquired by Reuters Group in September 2001.(9 April 2001)Reuters eyes Bridge ''CNN Money'' History The origins of Bridge date to 1974, when the original company wa ...

in 2001. Highland worked with Delphi Corporation through Delphi's reorganization in December 2006. In 2011, Highland moved its offices from the

Galleria Galleria may refer to Shopping centres named ''Galleria'' Australia *Galleria Shopping Centre (Perth), Morley, Western Australia * Galleria Shopping Centre (Melbourne), Melbourne, Victoria Canada * Allen Lambert Galleria, Toronto, Ontario *G ...

in far north Dallas to the Crescent Complex uptown. Highland is a founding benefactor of the

George W. Bush Presidential Center The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened on April 25, 2013, is a complex that includes former United States President George W. Bush's presidential library and museum, the George W. Bush Policy Institute, and the offices of the Geor ...

and, in early 2018, the firm provided the center with a $10 million endowment to back a series of public programs.

Investments

Highland manages the Highland Floating Rate Opportunities Fund (NYSE: HFRO), among other

closed-end fund A closed-end fund (CEF), also known as a closed-end mutual fund, is an investment vehicle fund that raises capital by issuing a fixed number of shares at its inception, and then invests that capital in financial assets such as stocks and bonds. ...

s. The company launched its first European regulated fund in 2014, the BB Highland Floating Rate Fund, through

Banco do Brasil Banco do Brasil S.A. (, ) is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Brasília, Brazil. The oldest bank in Brazil, and among the oldest banks in continuous operation in the world, it was founded by John VI, King of Portugal, on ...

. The new fund, launched as an Irish Qualified Investor Fund, was built to replicate the previous Highland Floating Rate Opportunities Fund which Morningstar named the number one Bank Loan Fund for one, three and five year periods among 213, 168 and 111 funds. Highland's Fund Class Z won the Lipper Award in 2014 for Best Loan Participation Fund over three years. In February 2010, the firm announced the completion of its CLO Value Fund I, which was launched in November 2008 to invest in secondary CLO debt and equity. Highland launched the Highland/iBoxx Senior Loan ETF in November 2012. In June 2018, the firm launched a UCITS fund focused on collateralized loan obligation (CLO) debt. Highland Capital Management Fund Advisors is an investment adviser and subsidiary of Highland, which is registered with the SEC. HCM Fund Advisors works with investment companies and manages equity, fixed income and balanced mutual funds. HCM Fund Advisors also manages exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on research from Hedge Fund Research, Inc. The first three ETFs launched by the company and traded on the New York Stock Exchange were Highland HFR Global ETF, Highland HFR Event Driven ETF, and Highland HFR Equity Hedge ETF. The Highland Global Allocation Fund was valued at $947 million in September 2016. In August 2018, Highland acquired

Cityplace Tower The Cityplace Tower (also previously known as the Tower at Cityplace) is a 42-story building located at 2711 North Haskell Avenue, at North Central Expressway (US 75), in the Cityplace district of Uptown Dallas, Texas (USA). The building is ta ...

from Parmenter Realty Partners and Angelo, Gordon & Co. The transaction was one of the largest building sales in Dallas in 2018.

References

External links

* {{Hedge funds Financial services companies established in 1993 Private equity firms of the United States Hedge fund firms in Texas Companies based in Dallas American companies established in 1993 1993 establishments in Texas Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019