Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM), one of the few publicly traded hedge funds appointed David Becker as chief legal counsel and chief compliance officer. Becker is a former general counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Becker replaces Blockinger
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM) hired Becker to replace Jeff Blockinger, who stepped down from his position. He will start in his new role on Monday.
Prior to joining the hedge fund, Becker was a partner at law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. He will bring his experience in the private and public sector in his position as chief legal counsel and chief compliance officer at Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM)
In a statement, the hedge fund said, “We are delighted to welcome an attorney of David’s caliber and experience to the Och-Ziff management team.”
Blockinger to remain as a senior adviser
According to Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM), Blockinger will still work with the hedge as a senior adviser. Blockinger plans to retire in June 2015. He has been working for the firm for ten years. One of the people familiar with the hedge fund said Blockinger’s decision to step down from his position is not related to a government investigation.
“We thank Jeff for his significant contributions over the past decade and are pleased that he will remain with the Firm as an Executive Managing Director and Senior Legal Advisor through June 2015 to ensure a smooth transition,” said Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM).
Och-Ziff Capital first quarter performance
During the first quarter, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE: OZM) reported am GAAP net income of $23.9 million, or $0.14 per basic and diluted Class A Share. The hedge fund also approved a dividend of $0.23 per share.
The hedge fund said its distributable earnings declined 7% to $127.8 million or $0.25 per adjusted Class A share during the quarter.
As of May 1, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE: OZM) has $43.5 billion estimated assets under management, which represents a capital net inflows of approximately $3.6 billion and performance- related depreciation of $290.5 billion year-to-date.
The hedge fund reported that the estimated year-to-date net returns of its OZ Master Fund were 0.93%, OZ Europe Master Fund -1.33% and the OZ Asia Master Fund -9.18% as of April 30.
“The first quarter of this year was marked by challenging equity market conditions and increased volatility globally, and these conditions persisted into April,” said Daniel S. Och, chairman and CEO of Och-Ziff Management Group LLC (NYSE: OZM).
In May, the hedge fund said it would restate its financial statements from the third quarter of 2012 to third quarter of 2013.
