Peter Nolan, formerly a principal at U.S. fixed-income firm Smith Breeden Associates, has joined with Duke University finance professor Michael Brandt to form QMS Capital Management, a quantitative global macro shop.
The firm plans to launch a $200 million managed account on May 1 and could open to outside investors by year-end. Nolan worked at Smith Breeden, which is based in Durham, N.C., for seven years, most recently as a principal and product portfolio manager, focusing on several of the firm’s structured fixed-income strategies. As of April 2009, Smith Breeden managed $18.37 billion. Brandt is a professor of finance at Duke, and he has also acted as a consultant to central banks, hedge funds and pensions.
--Suzy Kenly
