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We believe Tactical Value’s mandate, which opportunistically invests across the credit and equity spectrum, fills a ‘white space’ where capital remains relatively scarce, and alpha should therefore be more readily available.

 
 

Biography

Cameron Smalls is a Managing Director within Morgan Stanley’s Tactical Value Team (MSTV). Mr. Smalls rejoined Morgan Stanley in 2022. Prior to his current role, he was a Partner at Silver Rock Financial, a multi-billion dollar credit-focused asset manager and the former investment office of the Milken Family, where he led investments in liquid high yield and leveraged loans, private credit, and music royalties globally. Prior to joining Silver Rock in 2012, Mr. Smalls was a founding member of Morgan Stanley Private Credit, where he was responsible for originating, structuring, and executing credit and private equity investments across various industries. Prior to that role, he was a member of the Leveraged Finance & Acquisition Finance Group at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Smalls graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and received a B.S. magna cum laude in Economics.
 
 

Q&A with Cam

Welcome back! How was your return to Morgan Stanley?

The transition was incredibly smooth, given the muscle memory of having worked at Morgan Stanley for years in the early days of our Private Credit group, which happens to now sit across the floor from me. I was able to start working almost immediately on deals in the Tactical Value pipeline, and also use my network both internally and that I’ve developed outside the firm in my time away, to find new opportunities for us to diligence. It's a really dynamic, fast-moving, exciting place to work right now.

What drew you back to Morgan Stanley?

There's myriad reasons why I found this particular seat very attractive when I was considering new opportunities last year. Part of it is how highly regarded Morgan Stanley is across the Street and around the world. A lot of doors open and a lot of calls get answered because Morgan Stanley is a respected partner with a proven track record, and that was a huge part of my decision. If you look at the opportunity in the market, we think we have a differentiated strategy in Tactical Value, one that is in high demand right now because traditional capital markets aren't necessarily functioning properly. From a timing standpoint, I thought last year was absolutely the right time to come over to a platform like this, which is doing something truly differentiated and exciting.

What does your background add to the team?

I started my career at Morgan Stanley in leveraged finance, eventually moving into the newly formed Credit Partners team within Investment Management. I was able to work for a very talented team of individuals, orchestrating and executing leveraged finance transactions for very large sponsors. I left the firm for over a decade to work for the family office of Michael Milken, the architect of the high-yield bond, and I continued to learn about different credit products. I think having a good foundation within corporate credit is very important to my new role.

Beyond the current market environment, why is Tactical Value attractive in the longer term?

The Tactical Value proposition is both secular and cyclical. We are at a cyclical point where other financial markets are not operating smoothly, or at least not as they have been for the last 10 years or so. This creates a path for us to deploy capital at attractive levels. In the long-term, there will always be a need for flexible capital solutions. We believe Tactical Value’s mandate, which opportunistically invests across the credit and equity spectrum, fills a ‘white space’ where capital remains relatively scarce, and alpha should therefore be more readily available.

What differentiated opportunities do you find compelling right now?

When I joined Silver Rock in 2012, I started covering the music industry and I became somewhat of a niche expert. In 2021 I helped start a music catalog acquisition company. One key focus for Tactical Value is royalty investing and intellectual property investing. Our teams’ Co-Head, Tom Cahill, in many ways wrote the book on these instruments.  We have a key focus going forward on royalties and IP.

Cameron is a member of the Morgan Stanley Tactical Value
 
 
 

 

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