After more than two decades on the sell side at Citi, municipal market veteran Joe Geraci will bring his expertise in tax-exempt securities to the buy side, focusing on impact investing.
Geraci will join Old Orchard Capital Management LP, a New York-based registered investment advisor that specializes in opportunities primarily within the U.S municipal market.
Geraci was most recently co-head of Citi’s Global Spread Products division with Mickey Bhatia, who will assume sole leadership of GSP, which will incorporate both sales and trading and financing and securitization, Carey Lathrop and Andy Morton, co-heads of Markets & Securities Services, said in an internal announcement about Geraci’s departure on Tuesday.
Old Orchard, meanwhile, said it is eager for Geraci’s arrival, but a spokesperson declined to comment on his official start date and new title.
“Joe is one of the most well-respected leaders in municipal finance and the global spread-product industries, and we are excited to welcome him to Old Orchard,” a statement from the firm said. “We are confident Joe will add significant value to the firm as we continue to grow the business.”
Old Orchard seeks to create absolute returns for investors in a niche, uncorrelated strategy, aiming to capitalize on inefficiencies within the municipal and credit markets, according to its website. At the same time, it also emphasizes capital preservation.
During his career at Citi, Geraci and Bhatia led the GSP division since its inception in 2018, leveraging the talent, products, and technology from credit markets, municipal securities and securitized markets “to create holistic GSP sales and trading, and GSP financing and securitization organizations,” according to Lathrop and Morton’s announcement.
They described Geraci as “an exemplary colleague and leader in his 24 years at Citi” and said the pair’s leadership helped Citi’s GSP business distinguish itself during the market volatility of 2020.
“With an unrelenting focus on our clients and outstanding risk management, Joe and Mickey reconfirmed Citi’s GSP preeminence in the industry,” Lathrop and Morton said.
Geraci, who began his career as a summer intern at the former Salomon Brothers, later built and managed the sales, trading, structuring, and lending businesses within the municipal securities division, including leading the formation of Citi Community Capital.
The community lending and investing arm of Citi, CCC provides financial products — from investment banking to lending and equity investment — and finances both straightforward and highly structured transactions for non-profit and for-profit developers, Community Development Financial Institutions, and state and local government agencies.
