Macro Risk Advisors Expands Team To Serve Growing Client Base

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Macro Risk Advisors (MRA), a leading provider of equity derivatives strategy and trade execution for institutional investors, today announced the strengthening of its team with the hiring of Michael Buckjune, Ed Lalanne and Frank Trentacoste. The senior appointments are part of an ongoing expansion effort at MRA to further support its growing client base and meet increasing investor demand for cross-asset risk analysis.

"Michael, Ed and Frank bring deep understanding of risk across multiple markets," said Dean Curnutt, the founder and CEO of MRA. "Their expertise will give our buy-side clients, including many of the industry's largest hedge funds, the global risk perspectives they need in these dynamic and challenging markets."

MRA provides services to a client base of institutional and alternative managers, collectively with AUM in excess of $150 billion. Founded in 2008, MRA distributes a widely read daily market strategy note that provides a forward-looking analysis of global market risk and alpha-generating trade ideas to institutional clients. As a FINRA-registered broker/dealer, MRA uses its extensive network of contacts to access deep liquidity pools that enable the most efficient trade execution possible.

"Our client base continues to rely on our expertise in assessing market dynamics and in developing hedging strategies that offer effective protection for their portfolios. Our recent hires strengthen this core mission," said Mr. Curnutt.

Mr. Buckjune joins as a Managing Director responsible for growing the firm's institutional sales effort. He was formerly the global head of trading at Fortress Drawbridge, a macro hedge fund, where he worked closely with portfolio managers within Fortress to implement positions utilizing stocks, options and futures across major asset classes. Prior to that, he ran the trading desk at Cramer Berkowitz, a long/short hedge fund. Mr. Buckjune holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Syracuse University.

Mr. Lalanne joins as a Director, assuming a leading role in evaluating systemic risk and providing recommendations on how to reduce portfolio volatility. He was formerly a managing member at Greengold Capital, a start-up global macro hedge fund. Previously, he was a risk arbitrageur at the hedge fund March Partners, where he invested in merger and special situations globally. He began his career as a Nasdaq market maker and an equities program trader at Lehman Brothers. Mr. Lalanne holds an MBA with distinction in Analytical Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA from Dartmouth College.

Mr. Trentacoste, a CFA charterholder, joins as a Managing Director, focusing on bottoms-up analysis. Calling upon seven years of buy-side portfolio management experience, his process combines option pricing and fundamental insights to provide clients with a robust investment framework. He was formerly a portfolio manager of both the Ridgecrest Fund and Industrial Harvest Fund at Ridgecrest Partners. Prior to that, he was a cofounder and partner at Vault Partners, LLC, a global equity, thematic hedge fund. He has also worked for Javelin Partners, LLC, Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank. Mr. Trenstacoste holds an MBA in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University and a BS from Brandeis University.

About Macro Risk Advisors

Macro Risk Advisors is an equity derivatives strategy and execution firm headquartered in New York and specializing in translating proprietary market intelligence into specific trading ideas for its clients. Using an extensive network of contacts, MRA is able to access deep liquidity pools that enable the most efficient execution possible. MRA's strategy notes are read by more than 1,000 unique institutional firms. The company is a FINRA-registered broker-dealer. For more information, visit www.macroriskadvisors.com or MRAD <GO> on Bloomberg.

SOURCE Macro Risk Advisors