Robert McDonough, an authority on prime brokerage risks
Robert McDonough has been involved in the securities industry for over 40 years, working for several securities related companies.
His industry expertise evolved in his 23 years at Merrill Lynch where he was promoted several times to the title of Managing Director in the Office of the Chief Credit Risk Officer (CRO). Robert has become the expert within the company for the global Hedge Fund portfolio, establishing a proprietary counterparty rating system and establishing credit risk limits for over 1,000 hedge funds. His staff was located in NY, UK and Hong Kong and cover all aspects of Hedge Fund risk exposure.
In 2007 he transitioned to the business side and moved to the Prime Brokerage Group (PBG) within Merrill Lynch. He was responsible for risk integration post the Bank of America (BAC) merger and worked in Risk Management area of the PBG. He was responsible for presenting to BAC Credit Committee for approval all types of transactions with specific risk attributes such as: hedge fund share loans, single stock financing, term financing for PBG clients, subordinated loans etc. In addition, he participated in regular Q & A meetings with external regulatory groups (Federal Reserve Bank, FINRA etc.) to explain risk monitoring of clients within the PBG and work on solutions to recommendations mandated by the external regulatory groups.
Registrations / memberships
- FINRA: Series 63, Series 79 (Investment Banking)
- Securities Industry Essentials Examination
Areas of expertise
- W/r to hedge funds, family offices, money managers:
→ Due diligence
→ Credit quality assessment
→ Credit lines limits
→ Levels of margin/collateralization for loans
- All asset types:
→ Stocks, bonds, FX…
→ Swaps, derivatives, options
→ Fund of fund loans
- Credit policies and procedures
- Prime Brokerage risk management
- ISDA negotiations
Litigation support
Mr. McDonough’s services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant and include consulting, written reports, deposition, arbitration, and trial testimony as needed.
